Latvala sets the pace / Latvala donne le ton

Today’s shakedown run saw the WRC return to ‘clear’ asphalt for the first time since last October’s Rally RACC Catalunya. Volkswagen Polo R WRC/Michelin driver Latvala claimed the best time, ahead of Sordo and Ogier.

Les pilotes du WRC ont retrouvé l’asphalte depuis le Rally Catalunya 2012 à l’occasion du Shakedown de l’ADAC Rallye Deutschland. Le pilote Volkswagen Polo R WRC/Michelin Jari-Matti Latvala a signé le meilleurs temps devant Sordo et Ogier.

Immediately after completing recce, the priority WRC drivers jumped straight into their rally cars for the official test session ahead of this week’s Rallye Deutschland.

The best time for the 4.55km stage near Konz, a short drive from Trier, was faster than the effort posted by Sébastien Loeb (2m25.2s) this time last year. Indeed, Jari-Matti Latvala’s fourth attempt harvested a 2m23s5 in the VW Polo R WRC which is making its sealed-surface debut in Germany.

The Finn’s team-mate Sébastien Ogier was accredited with the second quickest time (2m24.9s) until that was beaten by Dani Sordo during the Spaniard’s last visit.

Thierry Neuville (2m25s4), whose Ford Fiesta RS WRC suffered a small engine problem during his first run, finished ahead of Mads Ostberg (2m25.8s) who also improved on his final attempt. Mikko Hirvonen (2m26.2s) only completed three passes.

The shakedown test for the WRC-2 drivers has only just started, but Robert Kubica (Citroën DS3 RRC/Michelin) has lost no time appearing at the top of the time-sheet with a 2m33.6s, which works out at a second per kilometre better than rivals Evans, Paddon and Barrable.

Today’s programme (Wednesday) continues with the FIA press conference, the traditional ‘Happy Hour’ at Qatar M-Sport and a barbecue in Volkswagen Motorsport’s service area.

Competitive action will begin after the official start in Cologne with two special stages on Thursday evening on the drive back to Trier (5:53pm and 7:58pm local time respectively).

Sitôt les reconnaissances terminées, les équipages prioritaires ont sauté dans les baquets de leus WRC pour la séance d’essais officielle du Rallye d’Allemagne sur la spéciale de Konz (4,55 km) située près de Trèves.

Le chrono de 2min25s2 réalisé par Loeb en 2012 a été battu. Au cours de sa quatrième tentative, Jari-Matti Latvala a signé 2min23s5 au volant de la VW Polo R WRC qui débute sur asphalte.

Son équipier Sébastien Ogier avait réalisé le deuxième meilleur chrono du jour (2min24s9) avant d’être devancé par l’Espagnol Dani Sordo (2min24s2) lors de son ultime essai.

Thierry Neuville (2min25s4) dont la Ford Fiesta RS WRC a connu un petit souci moteur lors du premier run, devance Mads Ostberg (2min25s7) qui a amélioré lors de son dernier essai.. Mikko Hirvonen (2min26s2) n’a effectué que trois tours.

Le Shakedown vient de commencer pour les pilotes WRC-2, mais déjà Robert Kubica (Citroën DS3 RRC/Michelin) s’est positionné en haut des classements avec 2min33s6 dès son premier tour. Evans, Paddon, Barrable sont à une seconde au kilomètre.

La journée se poursuivra avec la conférence de presse FIA, le traditionnel « Happy Hour » chez Qatar M-Sport et un barbecue dans le stand Volkswagen Motorsport. Demain, le rallye prendra la direction de Cologne pour la cérémonie de départ avant les deux premières spéciales sur le chemin du retour (17h53 et 19h58).

Mikkelsen withdraws from Rallye Deutschland / Forfait de Mikkelsen

Norway’s Andreas Mikkelsen (N°9 VW Polo R WRC) will not be taking part in this week’s ADAC Rallye Deutschland as planned. His co-driver Mikko Markkula is suffering from a back injury and doctors have diagnosed a cracked vertebra.

Le Norvégien Andreas Mikkelsen (VW Polo R WRC n°9) ne prendra pas le départ de l’ADAC Rallye Deutschland 2013. Son copilote, Mikko Markkula, souffrait du dos et les médecins ont décelé une vertèbre fissurée.

We were told of the news this morning by a Volkswagen Motorsport spokesperson in the service park, in Trier. Mikko Markkula reported a problem with his back during recce and a scan has revealed a cracked vertebra, probably due to the jumps and bumps of the recent Rally Finland when the Finn first felt pain. It went away after the Nordic event, but returned at the beginning of recce for the WRC’s German round.

Volkswagen Motorsport’s staff includes a long list of experienced co-drivers, including Luis Moya, team manager Sven Smeets, coordinator Timo Gottschalk, and even the Volkswagen Group’s media director Peter Thul who is a two-time winner of this event! However, it was impossible to nominate a replacement alongside Andreas at such short notice. The team was consequently forced to withdraw the Norwegian’s car from the first real asphalt event of the year.

For the moment, no surgery appears to be necessary and Mikko has simply been asked to rest, which means his trip to Australia in September could be in jeopardy.

Un des porte-paroles de Volkswagen Motorsport nous appris la nouvelle ce matin au parc d’assistance de Trèves. Lors des reconnaissances, Mikko Markkula souffrait du bas du dos. Après examens, les médecins lui ont décelé une vertèbre lombaire fissurée, probablement due aux chocs répétés lors du Rallye de Finlande au cours duquel il avait ressenti des douleurs. Depuis, elles s’étaient estompées, pour mieux réapparaître début des reconnaissances avant-hier.

Même si le staff de Volkswagen Motorsport compte de nombreux anciens copilotes (Sven Smeets, Luis Moya, Timo Gottschalk ou même le directeur de la presse du Groupe double vainqueur de ce rallye), il était impossible de trouver un remplaçant à Andreas après le début des reconnaissances. Le team s’est donc résolu à retirer la Polo R WRC n°9 avant le départ de la première manche asphalte de la saison.

Pour l’heure, aucune opération chirurgicale n’est envisagée. Mikko Markkula devra simplement observer une période de repos et sa participation au prochain Rallye d’Australie est incertaine

MotoGP, Indianapolis: here come the paddock girls

The Indianapolis round of the MotoGP World Championship saw Marc Marquez completing a perfect weekend where he topped all the free practice sessions, got himself the pole position with the new record of the circuit n then won the race on Sunday with the fastest lap. That was the fourth GP victory in his rookie year for the Repsol Honda rider, the third out of three on American soil, and now he boasts a cool 21 point lead in the World Championship over teammate Dani Pedrosa.

Surely the young Spaniard had a big shiny smile on his face at the end of the weekend, but he wasn’t the only one in Indy with a joyful face: just take a look at usual photo gallery dedicated to the always lovely paddock girls and you will see that for yourself.

The MotoGP stars are not going to get much rest before the next round as the Czech GP will take place in Brno this weekend - to be followed by the Silverstone round the weekend after that - but that also means we’ll get to see another of these cool photo gallery pretty soon featuring a bunch of Czech beauties, so we won’t feel to bad for them.

from TWOWHEELSBLOG

OUT OF NOTHING MOVIE – EPIC BONNEVILLE DOCUMENTARY BY P-51 AND SUPER RAT

MMENTS

You know how much I love Bonneville, it’s a special place like no other on earth. Imagine my excitement when I contacted about the upcoming Out of Nothing Movie by P-51. They have teamed up with Super Rat to create a documentary capturing the extraordinary dreams of four men from the Pacific Northwest in there dreams of setting motorcycle speed records at the legendary Bonneville Salt Flats. Mark and Carl Bjorklund from Super Rat set multiple motorcycle land speed records last year at the Bonneville BUB Speed Trials. Already I’m more than excited about seeing this documentary and if like me your a huge fan of motorcycles and ordinary men chasing dreams of speed then you will love this!

[

“This is the inspiring true story of four tenacious men from the Pacific Northwest and their journey to conquer the world records of motorcycle land speed racing at the Bonneville Salt Flats. This rare and special film will remind you how perseverance against all odds can send the most unlikely men roaring into glory.”

[

The documentary has been produced by well known comedian and actor Ryan Stiles, the film is currently in post-production and will be complete in September, followed by a limited theatrical release in 2014. The documentary looks to have been beautifully shot and the machines that are used for the speed records are amazing.

[

Make a Difference

P-51 have recently launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise the funds needed to finish production. You can make a difference on this project and donate a small amount starting at only $5 which will get you digital copy of the finished film. It’s not bad really to become part of a really cool project and feel like your helping the guys with there dreams. Depending on how much you want to kickstart  Out of nothing you can even get your name in the credits along with lots of cool things. Fans will be able to see the film in theatres this October prior to the official release by purchasing tickets on the kickstarter page. How cool would it be to know you’ve helped to be part of such a epic documentary, come on bikers dig deep and help these guys!

-

Checkout there kickstarter page at http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/outofnothing/out-of-nothing-1

-

Images: outofnothingmovie.com

Website: outofnothingmovie.com

from Moto Verso