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    dimanche 14 juillet 2013

    International GT Open : Silverstone !


    SILVERSTONE, 2 : CAMERON/GRIFFIN (AF CORSE) SUR LEURS TERRES.

    Après le V8 Racing et Corvette le samedi, c'est au tour de la Ferrari F458 Italia/AF Corse de Duncan Cameron et Matt Griffin qui s'est imposée à Silverstone lors de la course dominicale de l'International GT Open. Vainqueur la veille, le tandem Ramos/Pastorelli n'a pas été épargné par la malchance, leur Corvette C6.R connaissant un problème d'alternateur. On trouve tout de même une Corvette du V8 Racing sur le podium avec la troisième place de Diederik Sijthoff et Bert Longin. La deuxième position est revenue à la Ferrari F458 Italia/Villorba Corse de Filippi/Montermini. De quoi accentuer l'avance au championnat.

    La course a été animée du côté des GTS, la victoire revenant finalement à la Mercedes SLS AMG GT3/Seyffarth Motorsport de Ranger van der Zende et Miguel Toril. Trois marques différentes dans le tiercé de tête avec une belle deuxième place pour la Lamborghini Gallardo/rhino's Leipert Motorsport de Kox/Hamprecht devant la Ferrari 458 Italia GT3/SMP Racing Russian Bears de Rossel/Mavlanov. Très en verve samedi, la McLaren MP4-12C/Bhai Tech Racing de Pantano/Suzuki n'a pu faire mieux que 4ème de la catégorie sachant que la McLaren sœur de Van Der Drift/Razia a rendu les armes sur un souci d'accélérateur. Les deux Ferrari 458 Italia GT3/Ombra Racing se sont quant à elles accrochées, aucune des deux ne voyant l'arrivée.

    Au championnat, Andrea Montermini garde la tête avec 182 points devant son coéquipier Luca Filippi. Son absence sur une course pour cause de commentaire F1 pourrait bien manquer en fin de saison au moment de décerner la couronne. Pastorelli/Ramos comptent 125 points, soit 22 de plus que les vainqueurs du jour Cameron/Griffin. Suite à sa victoire, Miguel Toril prend les commandes du GTS avec un petit point d'avance sur la paire Pantano/Suzuki. Alexander Talkanitsa Sr mène pour sa part le Gentlemen Trophy.

    Le classement est ici et les photos .

    SILVERSTONE, 1 : ET DE TROIS POUR RAMOS/PASTORELLI.


    Miguel Ramos et Nicky Pastorelli n'ont laissé le soin à personne de décrocher la victoire lors de la Course 1 du meeting International GT Open de Silverstone. Le tandem de la Corvette C6.R/V8 Racing a raflé par la même occasion sa troisième victoire de la saison. Pourtant, c'est bien la Ferrari F458 Italia/Villorba Corse de Andrea Montermini et Luca Filippi qui a dominé durant la première moitié de course mais le handicap de 15 secondes de plus face à l'équipage de la Corvette n'a pas permis de concrétiser. V8 Racing et Villorba Corse ont une fois de plus confirmé leur domination au championnat. Le V8 Racing a même placé une autre Corvette sur le podium avec celle de Diederik Sijthoff et Bert Longin. Sur la ligne d'arrivée, la Ferrari/Villorba a rendu 2.128s à la Corvette victorieuse. Une autre Super GT a terminé au pied du podium avec la Ferrari F458 Italia/AF Corse de Duncan Cameron et Matt Griffin, pourtant partie nettement plus loin dans la hiérarchie.

    Victoire McLaren en GTS avec la MP4-12C/Bhai Tech Racing de Giorgio Pantano et Rafael Suzuki, cinquième au scratch. La seconde McLaren de l'équipe Bhai Tech de Van Der Drift/Razia avait pris la 6ème place mais une pénalité de 30 secondes à l'issue de la course l'a faite rétrograder au 9ème rang. La Ferrari 458 Italia GT3/AF Corse de Beretta/Lyons et la Ferrari 458 Italia GT3/Kessel Racing de Laursen/Magnussen complètent le podium. Malgré un très beau début de course, la Ginetta G55 GT3/Team LNT Ginetta de Mike Simpson et Lawrence Tomlinson n'a pu faire mieux que 15ème (10ème en GTS). Manque de chance pour la Ferrari F458 Italia/AT Racing de la famille Talkanitsa père et fils, handicapé par une crevaison. D'autres favoris n'ont guère été épargnés avec un abandon à noter pour la Ferrari 458 Italia GT3/Ombra Racing d'Alvaro Barba, mais aussi les deux Mercedes SLS AMG GT3/Seyffarth Motorsport, la Lamborghini Gallardo/rhino's Leipert Motorsport de Peter Kox et la Porsche 911 GT3-R/Autorlando de Isaac Tutumlu et Antonio Spavone.

    Avant le second round du week-end, Andrea Montermini prend seul les commandes du championnat avec 164 points, devant son coéquipier Luca Filippi (150). Les vainqueurs du jour (Ramos/Pastorelli) comptent 125 points contre 81 à Cameron/Griffin. En GTS, Pantano/Suzuki mènent avec 34 points devant Beretta/Lyons.

    Le classement est ici.

    Les photos de la Course 1 sont ici.

    Laurent Mercier(Endurance-Info)

    2013 Sachsenring: Marc Marquez didn't expect to lead the championship


    Even if Marc Marquez is a still a rookie, his victory at Sachsenring was that of an accomplished veteran MotoGP rider as he said, ‘that winning is important but without them [Pedrosa and Lorenzo] the triumph isn’t quite the same.’
    The German GP was Marquez’ second win of this season and also his seventh podium out of eight races that has now earned him the lead in the standings.
    Even if he dropped to fourth at the start of the race - his clutch slipped - he passed the riders in front of him with ease and on the sixth lap took the lead from Stefan Brad, and the raced away, unchallenged, even if Cal Crutchlow tried a charge in the final laps of the race.
    Marc Marquez 2013 Sachsenring raceMarc Marquez 2013 Sachsenring raceMarc Marquez 2013 Sachsenring raceMarc Marquez 2013 Sachsenring raceMarc Marquez 2013 Sachsenring raceMarc Marquez 2013 Sachsenring raceMarc Marquez 2013 Sachsenring raceMarc Marquez 2013 Sachsenring race
    “If I’m honest I didn’t expect to lead the championship after eight races. The circumstances are a little bit special so it was important to take points for the championship and it is my second victory in MotoGP,” said Marquez, who actually lead the championship after the first three rounds.
    “In Austin I felt a little bit different, because here without Dani and Jorge on the track. We hope for a great recovery for them. Even so I did a completely different race until now, because this time I led the race and tried to manage the gap to Rossi and then Cal.”
    “Even so, it is a good result, since we have taken the maximum points available and ridden a completely different race to those that we’ve had before. We led the race and maintained the gap to second place. It was good experience, although I perhaps prefer races that are a little more of a battle! We should be happy and we have also held up well, physically, at a circuit where there is no time to rest on the bike.
    Asked about the upcoming Laguna Seca GP - on a track where he has never raced because the lower classes do not race there, and how he’ll prepare for it he said, “We’ll see how it goes at Laguna Seca, which will be a hard Grand Prix for me because I’ve never ridden there. We’ll take it step-by-step and remain calm while we get up to speed.”
    “I’ll watch the videos of the previous races and on Thursday I’ll ride around the track with my scooter and maybe I’ll ask Valentino if I can follow him during the first free practice (laughing).”
    Rossi has no doubts that Marquez will have no problems coming to grips with the unknown track, “At Laguna… I expect that this f**king bastard is fast from the beginning! I’m sure Marc will be fast. For him one weekend is enough to be competitive.”
    from TWOWHEELSBLOG

    24H SPA : LE TRAILER DU BELGIAN AUDI CLUB TEAM WRT.



    En 2011, le Belgian Audi Club Team WRT était la première équipe à donner une victoire à Audi aux 24 Heures de Spa. L'an passée, le team de Vincent Vosse, Yves Weerts et René Verbist a bien failli récidiver mais les Allemands du Phoenix Racing ont raflé la mise. Pour cette campagne 2013, le Belgian Audi Club Team WRT a bien l'intention de reprendre le trophée. Pour cela, pas moins de quatre Audi R8 LMS ultra seront de la partie dans les Ardennes belges. La #0 sera confiée à Rahel Frey, Matt Halliday et Niki Mayr-Melnhof. La #1 verra en découdre un certain Stéphane Ortelli, vainqueur en 2003. Le Monégasque sera associé à son compère Laurens Vanthoor et René Rast. Il faudra se méfier de la #2 partagée par Frank Stippler, Christopher Mies et André Lotterer. Quant à la #13, elle sera pour Mattias Ekström, Marcel Fässler et Edward Sandström. Le trailer du Belgian Audi Club Team WRT est disponible.

    Laurent Mercier(Endurance-Info)

    YAMAHA XT600Z BY PLAN B


    Yamaha XT600Z
    Lying forgotten in the corner of a garage in Italy, this 1988 Yamaha XT600Z was on life support before Christian Moretti of Plan B Motorcycles decided to apply the defibrillators. Not that he wasn’t up for the challenge. According to Christian, Plan B was born from a philosophy of Nothing To Lose. “Everything can be shaped, improved upon and expanded,” he says.
    The first step in the resurrection was his favorite part: dismantling. “Everything away, one piece at a time until you leave the bare chassis.” Once that task was done, there was no turning back.
    Yamaha XT600Z
    He started off with a pair of Showa 43mm upside-down forks taken from a Ducati 916, disassembled, overhauled and anodized black. The original hubs were laced to new San Remo aluminum rims with a 18″ front and a fat 17″ at the rear. The new road-oriented wheels and tires required a reinforcement to the XT600Z rear end to eliminate possible twisting. So a handmade truss runs across the top of the swingarm, surrounding a Ducati 1098 adjustable mono-shock.
    Yamaha XT600Z
    The clip-ons, bicycle leather grips, and clutch and brake levers were borrowed from an old BSA. Christian then modified them to work with the radial master cylinder that controls a Brembo 4-pot caliper—required for the new 320mm floating discs.
    The electrical system was revised and streamlined. Almost all the controls were moved to the top yoke, with three small levers to control the lights. The rev counter was pulled out of the dashboard and slipped into a jug (repurposed from an IKEA tea set!) and securely mounted to the top plate.
    Yamaha XT600Z
    Meanwhile, the motor received major first aid. The crankcase and valve cover were completely disassembled and polished. The piston was replaced with a forged high-compression item that increases the displacement to 630cc. With the help of a new camshaft, a machined head, a new exhaust system and a pair of 35mm Keihin FCR flat slide carbs, the old single-cylinder can now handle 9,000rpm.
    The headlight came from a Citroën 2CV “found at a local flea market,” with enough room left over to house part of the electrical system. On the top are pilot lights for neutral gear, the turn signals and high beam. The taillight also came from the automotive world, this time from a 1930s Ford Model A. It’s recessed into the Ducati Imola tail.
    Yamaha XT600Z
    The tail was modified to adapt to the new frame, and also to make room for the rear indicators. Hidden under the tail is a new gel battery and the other half of the electrical wiring.
    The tank comes from a Yamaha XS750, and required hardly any modifications to slip onto the single-beam XT frame. But the new riding position meant the footpegs (now from a Yamaha R1) had to be moved further back, using aluminum supports where the passenger footrests used to be.
    Yamaha XT600Z
    The side panels, as well as the front fender, were taken from a Triumph Bonneville, while the belly pan came from a Thruxton. The paint job was done by Barbara of Rumi Custom Paint; she also airbrushed the small logo onto the tank and made a slender thread of gold leaf to separate the burgundy and cream used throughout the bike.
    The XT600Z is now christened “Proto-Moto,” and Christian is pleased. “The bike feels light, pushes strong, and descends into corners very well. It seems to have completely forgotten about its off-road past, and likes to consume every inch of tire tread around corners!”
    It’s quite a transformation for a bike that was gathering rust and dust in a corner, all but forgotten.
    I guess it’s always good to have a Plan B. Head over to Google+ for more images in high resolution.
    Wes Garcia is the chief editor of Megadeluxe, an online magazine covering the world of speed, sport and design. Images by Daniele Fontanin.
    from BIKEEXIF

    Marc Marquez runs away with Sachsenring victory


    Without Jorge Lorenzo and Dani Pedrosa in the 8th round of the MotoGP championship at Sachsenring and as highly expected - Marc Marquez took his second victory of the season - his fourth successive win on the German circuit - and moved to the head of the standings, with a hard-as-nails Cal Crutchlow taking second, and Valentino Rossi, third.
    Marquez was the polesitter, but it was Rossi who got the holeshot with Stefan Bradl and and amazing Aleix Espargaro following in third ahead of Marquez, but after just a few turns on the first lap the LCR Honda rider grabbed the lead, to the joy and roar of the 85,000 plus spectators who came to see the event.
    The first lap was highly exciting with the riders tightly packed, nosing around the tails of the bikes in front of them and during the second lap the Repsol Honda rider jumped Espargaro and began chasing Rossi and Bradl. as Cal Crutchlow and Alvaro Bautista passed the CRT rider.
    Lap 5 saw Marquez overtake Rossi with paint stripping pass and set his sights on Bradl, and on the sixth lap saw the Italian have a huge moment which allowed Crutchlow - who had a few himself - to catch him and almost simultaneously Marquez took the lead from his satellite counterpart..
    Rossi began chasing after the two Honda riders, dragging with him Crutchlow and he passed Bradl during the 9th lap and soon after the British rider did the same when the German who also had a moment, as Marquez began to speed away putting more than half a second between himself and the two Yamaha riders, which became more than 1.5 seconds on lap 13.
    Lap 15 saw Crutchlow overtake a struggling Rossi, and immediately begin to distance the factory rider, whose tires began slipping - exactly as he predicted on the eve of the race.
    For a few laps the positions remained frozen but with five laps left in the race, Crutchlow turned on the speed and began to try to chase down Marquez but the Spaniard controlled the lap times and would cross over the finish line with a 1.559 margin on the bruised, battered and cut Tech 3 rider, while Rossi was more seven seconds from Crutchlow and more than 9 from Marquez.
    After a stunning first part of the race Bradl faded to fourth, followed by Alvaro Bautista and an impressive Bradley Smith who took a safe sixth.
    Andrea Dovizioso was seventh and just managed to keep Aleix Espargaro at bay, while Nicky Hayden was 9th and a massive 45 seconds from the top of the timesheets, while Michele Pirro in his last race as a substitute rider for Pramac - at Laguna Seca Alex de Angelis will be riding in place of Ben Spies, was 10th.
    2013 MotoGP Sachsenring race results:
    01- Marc Marquez – Repsol Honda Team – Honda RC213V – 30 laps in 41′14.653
    02- Cal Crutchlow – Monster Yamaha Tech 3 – Yamaha YZR M1 – + 1.559
    03- Valentino Rossi – Yamaha Factory Racing – Yamaha YZR M1 – + 9.620
    04- Stefan Bradl – LCR Honda MotoGP – Honda RC213V – + 13.992
    05- Alvaro Bautista – GO&FUN Honda Gresini – Honda RC213V – + 21.775
    06- Bradley Smith – Monster Yamaha Tech 3 – Yamaha YZR M1 – + 25.080
    07- Andrea Dovizioso – Ducati Team – Ducati Desmosedici GP13 – + 30.027
    08- Aleix Espargaro – Power Electronics Aspar – ART GP13 – + 30.324
    09- Nicky Hayden – Ducati Team – Ducati Desmosedici GP13 – + 45.355
    10- Michele Pirro – Ignite Pramac Racing – Ducati Desmosedici GP13 – + 47.142
    11- Hector Barbera – Avintia Blusens – BQR FTR – + 47.824
    12- Randy De Puniet – Power Electronics Aspar – ART GP13 – + 48.523

    SuperMoto : wins for Hermunen and Thomas Chareyre in Italy / Hermunen et Thomas Chareyre s’imposent à Latina (Italie)


    Victory for Thomas Chareyre (TM Factory Team) in Race 2 of Round 5 of the FIM SuperMoto World Championship in Latina, Italy, put an end to a sequence of nine straight wins for Mauno Hermunen (TM SHR). Adrien Chareyre (Aprilia-Team Fast Wheels-Michelin) was third and second, his best haul of the season.
    En remportant la seconde manche de la cinquième épreuve du Championnat du monde SuperMoto FIM à Latina en Italie, Thomas Chareyre (TM Factory Team) met un terme à la série de neuf victoires consécutives de Mauno Hermunen (TM SHR). Adrien Chareyre (Aprilia – Team Fast Wheels - Michelin) signe son meilleur résultat de la saison en terminant troisième et deuxième.
    Saturday’s two races were initially programmed for Saturday evening, but the circuit’s floodlighting was judged insufficient for the riders’ safety, so the action was finally brought forward to the afternoon.
    Pole-winner Hermunen (TM SHR) took a hard-earned victory in Race 1 after Thomas Chareyre appeared twice in front. The Finn’s margin at the flag was only 0.34s. Adrien Chareyre was second after Lap 1 but was passed by his brother next time round. He was eventually third (+1.78s).
    Thierry Van Den Bosch (TM) was fourth, ahead of Ivan Lazzarini (Honda-L30 Racing-Michelin) and Sylvain Bidart (Honda-Team Luc1-Michelin).
    The second clash saw Thomas Chareyre take victory after emerging in front on Lap 1 when Hermunen made a mistake on the dirt portion. Adrien Chareyre, Van Den Bosch and Lazzarini all passed the championship leader, too, and the Finn took his worse result of the season to date (5th). Sylvain Bidart was sixth.
    Hermunen (241 points) continues to top the championship standings, ahead of Thomas Chareyre who has closed the gap to 22 points. Adrien Chareyre (182) is third and Lazzarini (176) fourth.

    Les deux manches, initialement programmées en nocturne, se sont finalement déroulées samedi après-midi, l’éclairage du circuit étant jugé insuffisant pour garantir la sécurité des pilotes.
    Qualifié en pole position, Mauno Hermunen (TM SHR) a remporté une victoire accrochée lors de la première manche où Thomas Chareyre s’est emparé à deux reprises de la tête de la course. Le Finlandais arrache son neuvième succès pour 0,34 seconde seulement. Deuxième à l’issue du premier tour, Adrien Chareyre rétrograde d’une place au tour suivant au profit de son frère. Il rallie l’arrivée en troisième position à 1,78 seconde du vainqueur.
    Thierry Van Den Bosch (TM) se classe quatrième devant Ivan Lazzarini (Honda  - L30 Racing- Michelin) et Sylvain Bidart (Honda – Team Luc1- Michelin).
    En seconde manche, Thomas Chareyre renoue avec la victoire en prenant les commandes dès le premier tour, profitant d’une erreur d’Hermunen dans la partie « terre ». Adrien Chareyre, Thierry Van Den Bosch et Ivan Lazzarini dépassent également le leader du championnat. Les positions se figent rapidement. Hermunen enregistre son plus mauvais résultat cette saison en terminant cinquième.  Sylvain Bidart est sixième.
    Malgré son faux pas, Hermunen conserve la tête du classement général avec 241 points. Thomas Chareyre, second, revient à 22 points du leader. Adrien Chareyre se hisse à la troisième place avec 182 points et se détache de Lazzarini (176 points).
    Résultats :
    Course 1: 1. Mauno Hermunen (FIN-TM) 19:11.035; 2. Thomas Chareyre (FRA-TM) ; 3. Adrien Chareyre (FRA-Aprilia) ; 4. Thierry Van Den Bosch (FRA-TM) ; 5. Ivan Lazzarini (ITA-Honda) ; 6. Sylvain Bidart (FRA-Honda) ; 7. Christian Ravaglia (ITA-Honda) ; 8. Fabrizio Bartolini (ITA-Honda) ; 9. Andrea Occhini (ITA-Suzuki) ; 10. Uros Nastran (SLO-Honda)...
    Course 2 : 1. Thomas Chareyre (FRA-TM) 19:05.672; 2. Adrien Chareyre (FRA-Aprilia); 3. Thierry Van Den Bosch (FRA-TM); 4. Ivan Lazzarini (ITA-Honda); 5. Mauno Hermunen (FIN-TM); 6. Sylvain Bidart (FRA-Honda); 7. Christian Ravaglia (ITA-Honda); 8. Andrea Occhini (ITA-Suzuki) ; 9. Fabrizio Bartolini (ITA-Honda); 10. Uros Nastran (SLO-Honda)...
    Classement général : 1. Mauno Hermunen (FIN-TM) 241 points; 2. Thomas Chareyre (FRA-TM) 219 p.; 3. Adrien Chareyre (FRA-Aprilia) 182 p.; 4. Ivan Lazzarini (ITA-Honda) 176 p.; 5. Sylvain Bidart (FRA-Honda) 157 p.; 6. Christian Ravaglia (ITA-Honda) 125 p.; 7. Andrea Occhini (ITA-Suzuki) 111 p.; 8. Aurelien Grelier (FRA-Yamaha) 104 p.9. Uros Nastran (SLO-Honda) 102 p.; 10. Thierry Van Den Bosch (FRA-TM), 94 p
    Prochaine épreuve : Sicile (Italie), 15 septembre

    The Hamptons of the North: Muskoka, Central Ontario


    The wildly romantic lakes north of Toronto are a well-kept secret. In the summer months, when the Hamptons or the Riviera feel just too crowded, the rich and famous find a haven here, away from the attention of the paparazzi. So far, anyway...
    Steven Spielberg spends summer vacations here, as does his friend, movie star Tom Hanks – while many internet millionaires whose faces are unknown and unrecognised have large estates in Muskoka. Early in the 19th Century, wealthy industrialists discovered the pristine beauty of this region of eastern Canada, named after the local Indian Chief Muskoka. In later years, American billionaires such as the Rockefellers, Carnegies and Mellons gravitated here, building – along the banks of the magnificent clear lakes – veritable palaces that they humbly called ‘cottages’.
    Located just two hours north of Toronto, Muskoka – with its lakes, rocks and dense pine and maple forests – is a picturesque ideal of Canadian beauty that combines a pleasant degree of wilderness with golf courses, luxurious resorts and a lively cultural life. In early autumn, the Toronto Film Festival is a firm date for Hollywood stars who then go on to enjoy premieres and parties in the region.
    It also attracts tourists and celebrity hunters with cameras at the ready, as Muskoka exerted a fascination for celebrities long before Spielberg & Co. In the thirties, Clark Gable was a regular at the legendary Bigwin Resort, while Ernest Hemingway showed enthusiasm for the fish population of Rosseau. In winter, too, there are the delights of skiing and ice fishing.
    The New York Times dubbed Muskoka the Malibu of the North, but the Como of the New World would be equally appropriate, given the elegant motor yachts, sleek racing boats and tiny water racers – the ‘sea fleas’ – that you find around Gravenhurst and Bracebridge.
    Those seeking civilised solitude would do well to try a visit to Muskoka. For a truly perfect stay on the edge of a lake, we’d recommend one of the so-called ‘cottages’ available to rent.
    Photos: Ed Boutilier for www.cottageblog.ca
    For those wishing to visit the Muskoka region we suggest renting a small house. Visitwww.colonialbay.com for further details.
    Muskoka dweller Ed Boutilier writes a fascinating blog on life in the region. Seewww.cottageblog.ca.

    Off Track: Driving the Abbot FV433 Self-Propelled Gun


    By JASON HEATON
    The mud pit looked impossibly deep, twin ruts at least two feet high and half full of a murky stew from the rainy spring. I hesitated a few yards shy of it and a tailwind blew a plume of diesel fumes across my face. “Does this thing ever get stuck?” I asked.
    My driving instructor, Brendan, an Airborne infantryman a few weeks shy of entering Green Beret selection, smiled and said, “Nope, just keep her straight so we can keep some trees upright.”
    I stomped my boot down on the massive gas pedal and the behemoth I was riding sprang to life. We roared through the mud pit, but where I expected a bronco ride with whining gears, it was smooth passage, the only evidence of the obstacle being a tsunami of brown water off the bow and a sudden cold wet sensation in my crotch. No, I hadn’t peed from fright. The cockpit floor of the Abbot FV433 Self-Propelled Gun had drainage holes in it, and now my trousers were the worse for wear. It suddenly made sense that I had been advised to bring a change of clothes.
    120 clicks southeast of Minneapolis lies the sleepy burg of Kasota. The town gets its name from the Dakota word for “cleared place”, but it still seemed pretty wooded as we drove to the outskirts of town to the headquarters of Drive A Tank, one of the few places in the world where you can pilot a bona fide fighting vehicle without enlisting. We expected to find an eccentric mom-and-pop operation with a rickety vehicle or two to drive around a gravel parking lot. What we discovered was a massive hangar housing no less than a dozen military vehicles, ranging from an M1A1 Abrams, two Abbots, a couple of decked-out Humvees and the crown jewel, a Russian T-55 tank. But that wasn’t it. Outside, several more vehicles were parked in various states of assembly: personnel carriers, trucks and earth-moving equipment. Down a dirt track behind the hangar was the “battlefield”, 20 acres of muddy trails and bug-infested forest, and that’s where the fun started.
    Abbot FV433 Self-Propelled Gun
    Abbott-FV433-Self-Propelled-Gun-gear-patrol-sidebar
    Manufacturer: Vickers (British)
    Gross weight: 34,000 pounds
    Engine: Rolls-Royce K60 diesel engine 240 hp (replaced by Cummins diesel)
    Max speed: 29 MPH
    Primary weapon: 105mm gun
    Firing rate: 6-8 rounds/minute
    Armor: 10-12mm steel
    Max. crew: 4
    Driving a tank is brutally easy to learn but difficult to master. The cockpit consists of a small capsule down into which you shimmy from the top deck. Amenities are sparse — no cupholders or USB ports here — and the space is cramped. There is only one pedal, the gas, sized for chunky military boots, and two joysticks, one for each of the tank’s linked tracks. Pull the left one back and it slows the left track, turning the vehicle to the left. As you might expect, pulling the right lever back does the opposite, turning you to the right. Pulling both back slows both tracks until the sheer weight of the tank overwhelms the engine’s idle speed, bringing it to a halt. A crude shifter goes from neutral to drive and off you go. Mash the pedal and try to keep things centered. Easier said than done, especially in a vehicle that is 10 feet wide — and you’re driving on the right (it is British after all).
    The Abbot FV433 technically is a Self-Propelled Gun and not a tank, according to Drive A Tank owner Troy Borglum. It was deployed by the British military from 1965 to the mid-90s as a defensive vehicle that could travel short distances, hunker down in a ditch and lob shells hundreds of yard at the enemy. With fuel consumption decidedly below the gas guzzler limits, they were not like the tanks of old that would steam miles ahead of marching troops to clear trenches and push back the enemy. The Rolls Royce engine in my Abbot has been replaced by a more modern Cummins diesel, which is more reliable and easier to service, without the proprietary, rare and finicky components of the vehicle’s original power source.
    ON MORE THAN ONE OCCASION, MY USUALLY QUIET DRIVING INSTRUCTOR WOULD START TO SHOUT AT ME FROM HIS PERCH BESIDE ME ON THE DECK, “GO LEFT! GO LEFT! GO LEFT!”
    Driving the tank (we’re gonna call it that) was actually fairly anticlimactic. I expected a harsh, noisy ride and a surge of thrust. But once underway, with my head jauntily sticking out of the cockpit, it was a surprisingly smooth ride. I guess 34,000 pounds of steel will do that to a vehicle. While the Abbot has plenty of grunt off the line, top speed is less than 30 miles per hour, but feels faster, perhaps due to the trees flying by and the whine of the diesel. The massive gas pedal was hard to modulate. You either mashed it or were coasting; no feathering it to apply drift in the corners.
    Speaking of corners, turning the monster proved most challenging. The trick is to take them wide, much wider than you think, to swing the massive rear end around without taking out trees, buildings, other tanks or the like. On more than one occasion, the usually quiet Brendan would start to shout at me from his perch beside me on the deck, “Go left! Go left! Go left!” But damn if I didn’t get that baby cornering like a Miata by the end of my one-mile lap. Or at least that’s what I’m telling people. Suffice it to say, no trees were harmed during my time behind the wheel.
    Abbott-FV433-Self-Propelled-Gun-gear-patrol-ambiance
    Though I didn’t get to drive the T-55 (that’s reserved for the Five-Star General package), Troy was kind enough to fire it up for us. This symbol of the Cold War — think Prague, 1968 or Afghanistan, 1980 — emanated intimidation even standing still. Four feet wider than the Abbot and with much thicker armor, it is an imposing sight. As its 34-liter diesel coughed to life (yes, that’s 34 liters, without a decimal point), a cloud of black smoke billowed from the side-mounted exhaust port and unburned fuel dripped from the same orifice. If this monster didn’t kill you with its gun, it would pollute you to death. Troy took off around the dirt track, disappearing from view but always audible.
    When the T-55 came around the last corner, preceded by plumes of exhaust, it was an awesome sight, branches crashing and the engine roaring. I felt like Jeff Bridges awaiting King Kong’s emergence from the forest. It churned past, its treads with distinctive widely spaced idler wheels spitting up mud, and came to a begrudging halt next to its one-time rival, the Abbot. Troy shut down the motor and climbed down. To the victors go the spoils.
    While I would have loved another lap in any of the tanks, my day was done. A large group of new drivers was waiting back at the headquarters for their turn behind the wheel, er… control levers. Some who paid more would even get to crush cars in a testosterone-fueled frenzy. I bade my faithful steed farewell and climbed into a waiting desert khaki Humvee and left the battlefield for the drive back. Oh, and to answer the question everyone asks: no, I didn’t get to shoot the gun.


    from gearpatrol

    NISSAN ZEOD RC HEADED TO GOODWOOD FESTIVAL OF SPEED.



    Fans in the UK at this week's Goodwood Festival of Speed will get their first opportunity to take a look at the Nissan ZEOD RC - the revolutionary electric racer that will debut at next year's 24 Hours of Le Mans.

    Launched just prior to last month's endurance classic in France, the groundbreaking Nissan ZEOD RC will reach speeds at the Circuit de la Sarthe of more than 300km/h (186mph) using electric technology. Nissan also has its sights on going even faster - targeting the electric land speed record set last month by Lord Paul Drayson.

    The global leader in electric vehicles for the road, Nissan will trial variants of new electric drive train technologies as part of the development of the car.

    The ZEOD RC will be on display at the Nissan stand at the sold out Goodwood event. The car will join the recently launched 2013 Nissan LEAF as part of the Nissan EV experience on the upper tier.

    Fans will also be able to take a closer look at a wide selection of Nissan vehicles including the Juke Nismo, 370Z Nismo, MY13 GT-R as well as the all-new Note.

    While the ZEOD RC and other members of the Nissan family will be on static display, fans will also get the chance to see a number of Nissan vehicles going up the hill - the famous 1.86 km (1.16 mile) hillclimb that is the centerpiece of the Goodwood Festival of Speed.

    Nismo Athletes Alex Buncombe, Lucas Ordonez and Wolfgang Reip will be covering driving duties in the 370Z Nismo, MY13 GT-R and the FIA GT3-spec GT-R. The latter is racing this year in the FIA GT Championship and the Blancpain Endurance Series.

    After next year's debut at Le Mans, Nissan intends to take the ZEOD RC to other major events including the 2014 Goodwood Festival of Speed for major demonstration runs.

    "Le Mans is an amazing showcase that we are looking forward to using next year to demonstrate how Nissan can electrify personal mobility of the future with the ZEOD RC," Nissan's Global Motorsport Director, Darren Cox said.

    "We'd love to be able to come back to Goodwood next year with the actual race car and challenge for the electric record. Nissan has already been to Goodwood with the electric Nissan LEAF RC, but we certainly have our sights set on breaking the 53.53 second electric record mark."

    The Nissan ZEOD is expected to debut on track later this summer as part of an extensive development program.

    Source : Nissan
    via Endurance-Info

    When Numero Uno Jeans were looking for the numero uno bike builder in India to build them a café racer, they were told to visit Rajputana Customs. Even though Rajputana hadn't built a café racer before, they had the credentials and were keen to build something a little different from their past projects. Numero Uno were pretty loose with their brief. It had to be a café racer, it also had to use the Numero Uno colors and it had to have a few branding details – so people knew it was a Numero Uno bike. Vijay and the guys from Rajputana started with the classic Indian donor bike – the 500cc Royal Enfield. “This is our first full-blown café racer and we hope to build a few more of these in the years to come” says Vijay. The bike took them three months to build and all for the very palatable cost of 450,000 Rupee, which works out to be around $8000 – not bad for a fully customised, ground up build. 
    When I asked Vijay where the stunning tank came from I quickly received the answer "we made it ourself... nothing is off the shelf". That pretty much sums up Rajputana Customs. When they build a bike, they like to build everything they can on the bike. This time, like most of the time, they started with the a Royal Enfield and stripped it down to the frame. 
    The swing arm was customised and then the stock Royal Enfield shocks were ditched for a mono shock set up, making for a much smoother and visually appealing ride. The front forks were replaced with KTM Front Forks. Also up front, the headlight was custom cast and the rear tail light was cast out of brass. 
    At the rear of the bike, there's been a jack shaft offset for the chain to accomodate a thicker rear tyre. The custom made seat has been covered in Número Uno black denim (just don't wash it with your whites). The electrics have been hidden in a custom made Ellipsoid metal housing. To complete the classic café racer look, a set of clip-ons have replaced the stock bars. If you're wondering what blue paint they used, then you will be left wondering, because it was custom made (of course) using a variety of blues, to get the perfect Numero Uno blue.  
    This might be the first café racer Rajputana Customs have built, but we're guessing it won't be their last. As for Numero Uno, they are blown away by the finished motorcycle. So much so, they are now planning to take the bike on a world tour. Who knows, it might end up in a mall near you.
    via PIPEBURN

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