Porsche 911 GT3 stars in new official video

Here is a brand new video starring the Porsche 911 GT3, the exciting new sportscar of the Zuffenhausen-based manufacturer that was unveiled last March at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show. The clip features the commentary of Herr Andreas Preuninger, responsible for theGT3 Cup project, and allows us to appreciate the oustanding looks of the model as well as its remarkable sound, which really gets the blood running through the veins of every motorsport enthusiast.

The 911 GT3 is powered by a 3.8-liter 6-cylinder boxer engine yielding 475 horsepower with 438 Nm of peak torque redlining at 9,000 rpm. This unit is coupled to a dual-clutch transmission (PDK) driving the rear wheels via a locking differential that is enough to have it sprinting from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in just 3.5 seconds, from 0 to 200 km/h (124 mph) in less than 12 seconds, and reach a top speed of 315 km/h (195 mph). The engine is actually based on the same engine as the 911 Carrera S, although they share only a few common parts.

One of the highlights of the model is definitely its active rear wheel steering: depending on the speed, the rear wheels steer in the same or opposite direction of the front wheels, improving stability and agility. Contact with the road is made by new set of 20-inch forged alloy wheels, with center-locking hubs in place of conventional wheel bolts. The car is priced at €137,303 in Germany and at $130,400 in the United States.

via EUROCARBLOG

'Sexy Bike Wash' gone wrong

‘Sexy Bike Washes’ have become a sort of ‘classic act’ in motorcycle culture, and nowadays it is not uncommon to find one at the most diverse rallies and venues (as well as plenty of videos on youtube and the likes). Delicious and provocative ladies giving their all to make our beloved two-wheelers shine under the sun… we all love it, don’t we? And there’s no doubt the we always find them pretty ‘intriguing’, to say the least.

Unfortunately, things do not always go the right way, as demonstrated by the curvaceous girl starring in this quite entertaining videoclip. She was absolutely into it, body - especially - and soul, but while carrying out her laudable and sensual mission with the motorcycle entrusted to her loving care, she made ​​a small mistake, whose tragic outcome got caught on film and is here for us to behold.

We do not have much more information about this lovely young lady, nor do we know where the whole thing was filmed, and it’s a pity because the footage doesn’t allow us to verify the actual consequences of that mistake, but we do hope that everything eneded up in just a few scratches and, maybe, with a good laugh. As far as we are concerned, it just cracked us up! Just check it out for yourself..

via TWOWHEELSBLOG

MotoGP, Honda: Livio Suppo rules out Casey Stoner's comeback to MotoGP racing

Repsol Honda’s Team Principal Livio Suppo has strongly denied any chance of Casey Stoner making a shock return to GP racing, not even as a wild card. The two-time World Champion, who retired from racing at the end of the 2012 season, has recently tested the 2014 RC213V machine in Motegi, and that was obviously enough to spark speculation that the Australian might have had second thoughts about his retirement, something that was strongly denied by Stoner himself right after the test in Japan and is confirmed once again by the Italian boss.

Suppo and Stoner have a long history together: the former was the boss in Ducati when the latter clinched his unforgettable first world title in 2007, and then he was pretty instrumental to bring him to Repsol Honda in 2011, a season that eventually saw the Australian being crowned World Champ for the second time. Speaking to AGP Podcats, Suppo basically said there’s simply no chance of Stoner coming back to MotoGP racing, not even for a wild-card entry in his home round in Phillip Island (as strongly rumored in recent weeks). He’s just the best test rider there is, and the whole thing is not going to get any further than that. According to Australia’s Daily Telegraph, here’s what Suppo said:

“For every manufacturer, to have a fast test rider is something like a dream. It’s almost impossible to find a super-fast rider to do tests. With Casey, it was a perfect situation. Since he retired, we spoke about his dream to still ride the bike sometimes. Everybody expects this means he will come back racing, but that’s not the case. “We are more than happy to have such a strong and fast rider in testing available, (and) Casey is very good at understanding the bike and giving suggestions to the engineers. Even if he enjoyed the test, that doesn’t mean he’s thinking to do a wildcard.”

from TWOWHEELSBLOG

BMW R75/6 BY MARIA MOTORCYCLES

You don’t see many vintage BMWs with red frames. But to my eyes, this R75/6 strangely works. The project comes from Portugal’s Maria Riding Company, and started with an order for a seat.

“Our client also had a rebuilt engine and a few other parts,” reports Luis Correia of Maria. “But there was no overall concept for the bike. So we decided to re-think it all over.”

It was Maria’s first BMW R-series build, and Correia had reservations. “In the beginning we were a little bit skeptical—a R75/6 from 1976 has a few technical limitations.”

Maria decided to build a bike that felt smaller and sat lower than the original, with the wheels dominating the overall look more. “Not the thin and shy wheels that came with it originally!”

New aluminum rims and Firestone AMS tires were fitted, with the wider back wheel adjusted to the left to clear the shaft drive. Correia and his crew then welded on a new subframe with a large tube diameter—to increase strength and create a more uniform and robust look. “It was interesting to mix the classic look with something more aggressive,” he says.

The front suspension was rebuilt and shortened a little, with stubby Bitubo shocks dropping the rear end to match. The tank was reprofiled to suit the lower stance, the battery was hidden, and the airbox was modified to clean up the gap behind the engine. Simple controls and instruments add to the clean look.

And that frame ..? “The red was risky,” Correia admits. “But the final result turned out great with the black and steel finishes. People who know our work know that we love to take risks with color.”

Head over to the new Maria Riding Company website for more stylish builds, including the ‘Italian Sniper’ Ducati 750SS we reported on a few months ago.

via BIKEEXIF

Vamos Dani !

Round nine of the 2013 WRC was marked by a magnificent duel between Sordo and Neuville which produced the Spaniard’s first world class success. Volkswagen missed its chance, allowing Citroën to win the ADAC Rallye Deutschland for the 12th time, not to mention its victories in WRC-2 and WRC-3!

Le duel Sordo/Neuville et le premier succès mondial de Dani ont animé cette neuvième manche WRC de la saison. Volkswagen a trébuché, Citroën a remporté l’ADAC Rallye Deutschland pour la douzième fois et gagné les catégories WRC, WRC-2 et WRC-3 !

Dani Sordo had to wait until the end of his 107^th rally for his first WRC win after securing 20 second places and 14 thirds! It was also his co-driver Carlos del Barrio’s first world class victory, and Spain’s first since the 2004 Rally Argentina…

The combination of Sordo’s victory, Mikko Hirvonen’s 64^th podium finish and VW’s unhappy week enabled Citroën-Total Abu Dhabi WRT to close to within 26 points of the top of the Manufacturer’s take. For information, Meeke and Hirvonen will represent the French firm in Australia, while it won’t be able to nominate asphalt aces Sordo and Loeb for France, since Hirvonen has been named for the entire year.

Talking of Loeb, Rallye Deutschland was the first asphalt rally for a decade without the French expert at the start. Yet his absence went almost unnoticed thanks to the splendour of the battle and the furious pace. Loeb’s record for ‘Moselland’ in 2012 (22.79km, 14m9.9s) was bettered by four drivers: Latvala (13m57.9s), Neuville (14m0.5s), Sordo (14m2.1s) and Hirvonen (14m6.2s), so we could be in for some fun in Alsace…

Although the battle for Manufacturers’ honours is back on, Ogier still looks good for the Drivers’ crown. Neuville saved a match ball in Germany, but the Frenchman has four other chances to clinch the prize. If Ogier wins both the rally and the Power Stage in Australia, Neuville will need to come second in both to keep his hopes alive. And should the fight go all the way to the Rallye de France, it could be all over by SS1… which will be the event’s Power Stage!

Meanwhile, Robert Kubica (Citroën DS3 RRC / eight fastest times) and Elfyn Evans (Ford Fiesta R5 / four) impressed in WRC-2. The Pole took the advantage with only two stages remaining, while Hayden Paddon (3^rd) recorded three consecutive fastest times on Friday in his Skoda Fabia S2000. Despite an off on SS13, Sepp Wiegand was fourth, ahead of Karl Kruuda (Fiesta R5). Eyvin Brynildsen (Fiesta R5) returned to Norway on Saturday evening to be at home for the birth of his child.

In WRC-3 / Citroën Top Driver, Sébastien Chardonnet soon found himself safely in front after Christian Riedemann (3^rd) crashed on SS4 and Quentin Gilbert (5^th) had several issues (electrics, off, puncture). Chardonnet beat Keith Cronin by more than four minutes to take the championship lead ahead of Rallye de France where he was 10^th overall last year in a DS3 WRC.

Pontus Tidemand collected his second Junior-WRC success of the season to go further clear in the standings ahead of Jose Suarez (5^th) who punctured while leading in Germany. Tidemand now leads by 38 points with two rounds remaining. Switzerland’s Michael Burri was second, ahead of Yeray Lemes (puncture). Parn (6^th) and Lemes are equal third in the championship.

il aura donc attendu son 107^e rallye WRC pour enfin monter sur la plus haute marche du podium après 20 deuxièmes places et 14 troisièmes places ! Dani Sordo – et n’oublions pas son copilote Carlos del Barrio - la méritait bien, cette première victoire mondiale. L’Espagne aussi, qui patiente depuis l’Argentine 2004…

La victoire de Sordo, le 64^e podium de Mikko Hirvonen et le faux-pas de VW sur ses terres, permettent à Citroën-Total Abu Dhabi WRT de revenir à 26 points de Volkswagen et relancent le championnat Constructeurs. Petit rappel : Meeke et Hirvonen sont nominés en Australie. En France, Citroën ne pourra pas aligner son duo Sordo/Loeb puisque Hirvonen est nominé à l’année.

En parlant de Loeb, l’ADAC Rallye Deutschland 2013 était le premier rallye asphalte organisé sans le maître incontesté sur cette surface depuis une décennie. Eh bien on l’aurait presque oublié tant la bagarre fut exceptionnelle et le rythme élevé. Dans Moselland (ES7, 22,79 km), le record de Loeb de 2012 (14min09s9) a été battu par quatre pilotes : Latvala (13min57s9), Neuville (14min00s5), Sordo (14min02s1) et Hirvonen (14min06s2). On ne devrait pas s’ennuyer au Rallye de France…

Si le championnat Constructeurs est relancé, le championnat Pilotes est toujours en ligne de mire pour Ogier. Neuville a sauvé une balle de match en Allemagne, mais le Français en dispose de quatre autres. En Australie, si Ogier gagne le rallye et la Power Stage, Neuville devra alors finir deuxième du rallye et de la Power Stage pour rester dans la course au titre. Et si le titre 2013 se jouait au Rallye de France, pas à la fin du rallye mais dans la première spéciale puisqu’il s’agit aussi de la Power Stage !

En WRC-2, Robert Kubica (Citroën DS3 RRC, huit meilleurs temps) et Elfyn Evans (Ford Fiesta R5, 4 meilleurs temps) ont brillé. Le Polonais s’installe en tête de la série. Hayden Paddon (3^e) a signé trois meilleurs temps consécutifs vendredi matin sur sa Skoda Fabia S2000. Malgré une sortie de route (ES13), Sepp Wiegand a terminé quatrième devant Karl Kruuda (Fiesta R5). Le Norvégien Eyvin Brynildsen (Fiesta R5) a dû rentrer précipitamment chez lui samedi soir pour (espérer) assister à la naissance de son enfant.

En WRC-3 / Citroën top Driver, Sébastien Chardonnet a vite été débarrassé de ses plus dangereux rivaux : Christian Riedemann (3^e) est sorti de la route vendredi matin (ES4) et Quentin Gilbert (5^e) a connu un week-end noir (faisceau électrique, touchette, crevaison). Chardonnet s’est imposé avec plus de trois minutes d’avance sur Keith Cronin et prend la tête avant le Rallye de France où il avait terminé dixième l’an passé sur DS3 WRC.

Deuxième succès de la saison pour Pontus Tidemand en Junior-WRC qui augmente son avance au championnat sur l’Espagnol Jose Suarez (5^e), victime d’une sortie de route en Allemagne alors qu’il était leader. Le Suédois compte 38 points d’avance et il reste deux épreuves à disputer. Le Suisse Michael Burri a terminé deuxième devant Yeray Lemes (crevaison). Parn (6^e) et Lemes sont troisièmes ex-aequo au championnat.

Monterey Motorsports Reunion 2013

The Monterey Classic Car Week is a cornerstone event in the classic car calendar and the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion at Mazda Raceway in Laguna Seca is an important part of the festivities. For the past 38 years the reunion has joined Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance as one of the two most important events of the Californian classic car week, and every year it attracts a stellar cast of cars.

This year’s event celebrated 60 years of the Corvette and marked the occasion with a collection of some of the finest examples of America’s iconic sports car. Overall there were 45 Corvettes at the reunion and anyone lucky enough to visit Laguna Seca Raceway over the weekend would have seen a parade of them coming through the Andretti Hairpin and winding down the Corkscrew turn. Other examples competed in some of the historic races that took place including the historic Trans-Am event that featured 41 machines.

Over the years famous drivers like Bobby Rahal, Mario Andretti and Stirling Moss have featured at the event but it’s normally the preserve of rich amateurs who bring along their historic machines for a run at the famous Californian road course. As an added bonus for participants, the traditional Tour d’Elegance at this year’s Monterey Classic Car Week, which takes the classic cars through 17 miles of mountainous roads around California, also included a lap of the 2.2 mile Laguna Seca Raceway.

Monterey Motorsports Reunion 2013

The organisers haven’t unveiled their plans for the 2014 event so there’s no word on which manufacturer will be the featured marque but with the Ford Mustang hitting 50 years old next year, we’d be surprised if the 2014 Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion concentrated on anyone other than Ford.

via EUROCARBLOG