Riders Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi will not continue to ride on Wednesday having completed the testing schedule required by Yamaha.
Both riders again tested an early version of the 2014 YZR-M1 along with working on a set up to reduce fuel consumption ahead of the rule changes for 2014 which will see a reduction in allowance of fuel for the MotoGP races.
Lorenzo and Rossi will now take a well-earned break before returning to the track for the first official test of 2014 in Sepang, Malaysia in February.
Lorenzo concluded Tuesday second on the timesheet with a best effort of 1'30.768 from a 60 lap workout. He stated, “We tested next year’s bike today and we found some positive things. We are trying some small details that will give us some small advantages. We will wait for Sepang to have bigger and more important modifications.”
Ending the day seventh, meanwhile, Rossi notched a best time of 1'31.414 from his 57 laps, then summarised the day saying, “Today we focused on the new bike and it was a little bit more difficult than yesterday. We worked a lot to try to test some new systems for the fuel consumption and the settings; it has been a good test. At the end the performance wasn't fantastic but we made an important job for winter to arrive competitive next year. During this season I wasn't strong enough in braking so this is the target to improve.”
Like Lorenzo, Rossi will be back in action in Sepang after the winter break, working with his new Crew Chief Silvano Galbusera.
Jorge Lorenzo et Valentino Rossi ne participent pas à la troisième et dernière journée du Test Officiel de Valence mercredi et étaient donc en piste pour la dernière fois de l’année mardi.
Les deux pilotes du team Yamaha Factory Racing ont essayé une version de test de la YZR-M1 2014 et ont travaillé avec leurs ingénieurs afin de réduire la consommation de carburant, pour s’adapter à la nouvelle règlementation qui imposera un maximum de 20 litres pour les machines « Factory » l’an prochain.
Lorenzo a conclu la journée avec le deuxième temps, derrière le nouveau Champion du Monde MotoGP™ Marc Márquez (Repsol Honda), et a déclaré : « Aujourd’hui nous avons essayé la moto de l’an prochain et nous avons trouvé des choses positives. Nous travaillons sur de petits détails qui peuvent représenter de petits avantages. Nous attendrons Sepang pour avoir des modifications plus importantes. »
Rossi a fini ses essais à plus d’une demi-seconde de seconde coéquipier et a commenté : « Aujourd’hui nous nous sommes concentrés sur la nouvelle moto et c’était un petit peu plus difficile qu’hier. Nous avons beaucoup travaillé pour tester le nouveau système de gestion du carburant et c’était un bon test. Au final nos performances n’étaient pas fantastiques mais nous avons accompli des choses importantes pour cet hiver et pour être compétitifs l’an prochain. Durant la saison, je n’ai pas été assez fort sur les freinages et ce sera donc l’une de mes priorités. »
Lorenzo et Rossi se retrouveront en février prochain à Sepang, pour le prochain Test Officiel de la pré-saison 2014.
After trying three different prototypes on Tuesday as he set the best time, Marquez worked on his 2014 bike on the final day of the test – finishing at the head of the list of 14 riders present with a best lap of 1’30.287, just 0.05s off the time which gave him pole on Saturday.
With the arrival of Moto2™ World Champion Pol Espargaro on the other side of the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 box, Bradley Smith has a new motivation for the 2014 season – to be faster than his talented new teammate. Smith was quick on Wednesday in testing, his 1’30.598 the second best of the day and 0.6s better than his Saturday qualifying time.
Espargaro impressed again in sixth, less than a second behind Smith as he concluded his first MotoGP test.
Stefan Bradl was third, 0.27s down on Smith – fourth overall over the three days of the test, just marginally off third best rider Jorge Lorenzo who did not ride on Wednesday and put in his best time in Tuesday. Bradl made good use of the 2014 Honda as he tested it for the first time.
Dani Pedrosa had a busy day, also testing the 2014 machine and lapping fourth best on Wednesday and fifth overall, his fastest lap coming on Tuesday. Likewise Alvaro Bautista went quicker yesterday than today and was caught out on Wednesday by the new HRC machine for next season, crashing it on his eighth lap on the bike on Wednesday – though without serious consequences.
Just below Bautista and Pol Espargaro on Wednesday’s timesheet, Andrea Iannone was the fastest Ducati equipped rider on the timesheet with Pramac Racing, 1.3s off Marquez’ pace.
Aleix Espargaro did well on the new Forward Racing FTR Yamaha on just his second day on the bike, just outpacing the likes of Ducati Team’s Andrea Dovizioso and Cal Crutchlow, and putting in 49 valuable laps on the new machine. Espargaro’s new teammate Colin Edwards did not test as he was already en route back to Texas for a well-earned winter break.
New Power Electronics Aspar riders Nicky Hayden (1’32.123 – 40 laps) and Hiroshi Aoyama (1’32.530 – 60 laps) put in a century of tours around the 4005m Ricardo Tormo track, gathering priceless data and experience with the new Honda RCV1000R.
Completing the timesheet was Paul Bird Motorsport rider Michael Laverty , 0.5s behind Aoyama as his team work on their strategy for the forthcoming season.
Some teams may test privately in the coming weeks, but after the Winter Test ban in December and January the 2014 MotoGP grid will back in action together at Sepang in the 2nd-4th February
Après avoir travaillé sur différents prototypes et signé le meilleur temps mardi, Marc Márquez (Repsol Honda) a principalement roulé sur la version 2014 de la RC213V aujourd’hui et a été le plus rapide des quatorze pilotes présents au circuit. Le nouveau Champion du Monde MotoGP™ a tourné en 1’30.287 et n’était qu’à cinq centièmes de seconde du chrono qui lui avait valu la pole position pour la dernière course de l’année samedi dernier.
L’arrivée de Pol Espargaró, le Champion du Monde Moto2™ 2013, chez Monster Yamaha Tech3 semble avoir motivé Bradley Smith à se donner à fond pour préparer la saison 2014. Le Britannique s’est classé deuxième de la journée, en progressant de plus d’une demi-seconde par rapport à son temps de qualifications du week-end dernier et se mettant à trois dixièmes de Márquez, tandis que son nouveau coéquipier a fait bonne impression en enregistrant le sixième temps, pour finir son premier test en MotoGP™ à une seconde de Smith.
En l’absence de Jorge Lorenzo et de Valentino Rossi, qui avaient bouclé le programme prévu par Yamaha Factory Racing mardi, Stefan Bradl (LCR Honda) complétait le Top 3 de la journée, à plus d’une demi-seconde du temps de référence et devant Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda), qui avait une journée chargée avec de nombreux tests à réaliser sur le prototype 2014 de la RC213V.
Álvaro Bautista (GO&FUN Honda Gresini) s’est classé cinquième malgré une chute en début de journée et a finalement pu boucler près de soixante tours. Seul autre pilote à moins d’une seconde de Márquez, l’Espagnol devance Pol Espargaró, Andrea Iannone (Pramac Racing), le premier pilote Ducati, ainsi qu’Aleix Espargaró (NGM Mobile Forward Racing).
Ce dernier poursuivait son travail de mise au point sur la nouvelle FTR-Yamaha et a fini devant les deux pilotes du team Ducati, Andrea Dovizioso et Cal Crutchlow, ainsi que Michele Pirro (Ducati Test Team). Colin Edwards, qu’il a rejoint chez Forward Racing, ne participait pas à cette dernière journée d’essais.
Nicky Hayden et Hiroshi Aoyama, les nouvelles recrues du team Aspar, ont continué leur adaptation à la nouvelle Honda RCV1000R et ont respectivement bouclé quarante et soixante tours. Complétait le classement du jour le Britannique Michael Laverty (PBM).
Scott Redding (GO&FUN Honda Gresini) avait décidé de renoncer à cette dernière journée d’essais en raison de sa blessure au poignet tandis que Héctor Barberá (Avintia Blusens) et Mike di Meglio, invité à tester la FTR-Kawasaki du team espagnol, avaient bouclé leurs essais mardi soir afin de mettre le cap sur le MotorLand Aragón, où ils devraient rouler jeudi et vendredi lors d’essais privés.
La pré-saison MotoGP™ 2014 ne reprendra officiellement que l’an prochain, à Sepang, du 2 au 4 février, suite à une trêve hivernale qui couvrira les mois de décembre et janvier.
Durant le mois de décembre, France Ô va diffuser trois documentaires de voyages dangereux à moto, en partant de la Bolivie pour arriver en Australie, en passant par les Philippines.
Dès le 1er Décembre 2013, et pour la première fois à la télévision, une série de documentaires motos, « les routes dangereuses« accompagne un motard-voyageur vers les coins reculés de la planète. A la rencontre de routes réputées et dangereuses, de ceux qui les empruntent et de ceux qui vivent le long de ces itinéraires.
Ils seront en première diffusion sur France Ôles dimanches 1er, 8 et 15 décembre 2013 à 17h15 :
- 1er décembre : Bolivie, la route de la mort.
- 8 décembre : Philippines, Halsema highway, la piste des rizières.
- 15 décembre : Australie, la Tanami track dans l’Outback, le désert Australien.
(Photo DR)
L’aventure
Loin des clichés que peuvent évoquer moto et routes dégradées, il ne s’agit pas de mettre en scène des exploits motocyclistes ou des ersatz de rallye-raid en solo. De l’Altiplano Bolivien au bassin Amazonien par des pistes effrayantes, en passant par les peuples isolés de la Cordillère Centrale aux Philippines ou encore par l’immensité et la désolation du désert Australien, la caméra( parfois subjective) accompagne Aldo, le voyageur, qui devient ici un passeur pour le téléspectateur. Ce dernier se retrouve ainsi en immersion totale, comme s’il était lui-même sur la route.
Mouvement et diversité
A travers un décor spectaculaire et exotique, aller à la rencontre de l’Autre et de ses modes de vie est l’objet principal de cette série de voyages.
Une technique discrète
La mise en scène, la multiplicité des angles de vue, ou la haute technologie sont ici délaissées au profit d’un voyage vivant et parfois chaotique, qui autorise la richesse d’un sourire, d’une simple rencontre, de la sincérité d’un échange.
Motard et voyageur
Ces documentaires ne s’adressent pas uniquement aux motards, mais à tous ceux qui aiment les voyages, l’aventure et les rencontres qu’ils occasionnent.
Aldo, le cobaye
Les voyages, Aldo en rêve depuis son enfance. Calme mais obstiné, dès sa majorité il achète sa première moto et… part en voyage. Depuis, ce dévoreur d’espace ne s’est jamais arrêté, la plupart du temps à moto, et de préférence aux quatre coins du monde. Cette passion l’a conduit vers des études d’anthropologie, puis vers le métier de journaliste. Avec l’âge, la timidité s’est changée en retenue et c’est avec humilité mais curiosité qu’il aime provoquer les rencontres. Guide et flâneur à la fois, il incarne ici le globe trotteur et emmène à l’aventure, avec ses péripéties, ses questionnements et ses émotions.
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The decision by Harley-Davidson in 2009 to shut down Buell Motorcycles in order to consolidate their focus on their v-twin cruisers was met with a lot of anger and no small amount of loud noises. Many had seen Buell as Harley’s ticket to a younger, more sports oriented demographic and the decision to shut it down indicated to many that the management at HD had their head in the sand regarding their future strategy.
The good news for those who loved Buell’s work is that they’re back in production, further to that there’s a huge community around the Buell brand, resulting in custom motorcycles like the one you see here, called “Bully” by Deus Ex Machina.
The Bully started life as a stock Buell Lightning X1 before being crashed by its owner and written off by its insurance company, Deus bought the sorry remains of the X1 and wheeled it squeaking and leaking into their Venice workshop in California. Head mechanical honcho Woolie then set to work stripped it back to its bare essentials and then set to work.
A new rear sub-frame and swing arm were needed, these were then coupled to a one-off aluminium fuel tank and seat/cowling. That under-sump rear suspension was custom made by Pierre Vallaincourt at Works Performance and the bike’s billet aluminium elements were all made by James Eiland at Rizoma USA.
The final two-tone colour choice was selected by the new owner, he has a pair of Nike Hi-Tops in the same colours and correctly guessed that it would suit the bike quite well. The finished bike is said to handle better than the original Buell Lightning X1 with many of the original production bike’s issues having been ironed out by Woolie with a spanner and a mouthful of expletives.
I always say this when we feature a custom Harley-based bike so I might as well keep up the tradition – Harley needs to be making bikes like this if they want any shot at surviving another 100 years.
It’s been over a year and a half since I’ve hit up a D1 Grand Prix event. Over the last few years I’ve had a bit of a love and hate relationship with this series: initially I loved it because it gave this cool motorsport the attention and promotion it deserved, plus I enjoyed shooting it, experimenting with low shutter speeds and trying out strange new angles. Every time I went to an event, it was an exciting mix of witnessing drivers do their thing, seeing, hearing and smelling powerful cars pushed to the very limit, and then the photography aspect of it all.
Never did I expect D1 to disappoint me, but that is precisely what it did. Seeing such a great series spoiled by poor organization that forced even the founding fathers to leave, but then seeing it continue to evolve into an overly-protected series; well if this doesn’t kill your passion for a sport, then I don’t know what will. But I believe in second chances and with the last round of the 2013 Championship being held 30 minutes from my house…
… well I thought, why not? I wasn’t there to follow the proceedings as I would have ten years ago, getting caught up in the battles and anxiously waiting for the judges’ calls. No, I was there for the very simple desire to shoot some wild slides…
… and to take a look at the cars that are currently participating. After all, this is exactly what caught my attention all those years ago. It’s always been about the cars for me: that, the way they are driven and the resulting pictures I can walk away with.
The morning started off with some solo runs, drivers getting judged on both entry speed and the line they managed to put down…
… around the makeshift track that was laid out at the same car park that hosts those cool Mooneyes and JCCA gatherings we always flock to every year. There was much I wanted to see, starting off with Manabu Orido’s 86…
… which, since the last time I saw it, had ditched its hard-to-work-with ISF V8 powerplant in favor of some American muscle. After a quick initial and very smooth pass however…
… everything went pear-shaped for Orido. After clipping one of the last concrete barriers as he powered out of the turn, his car straightened up and the front end pushed into one of the guardrails, the resulting push allowing the following guardrail to literally stab the front end of his car. Orido’s weekend was over before it even started. The big spear-like hit had bent a portion of the chassis, and despite his team managing to get most of it fixed up by the end of the day, the car wasn’t used, even in Sunday’s exhibition round.
Single runs led to some tsuiso battles between drivers in the first group, and there were some pretty cool cars to see, like the HDO KP61 Starlet of Hideo Itakura, seen here leading against Mitsuro Murakami of Team MMM.
The top five drivers in D1 Street Legal were called in to do a short competition between each other: drivers that included Andrew Gray and his Powervehicles JZX100, which, thanks to a 3.1L 2JZ and an HKS T04Z blower, does a good job of burning through Neova AD08Rs like they were butter.
One of the youngest drivers in D1, Masanori Kohashi, always manages to put down smooth and consistent runs and is always a pleasure to see in action.
There is always much energy in a D1 paddock, especially as drivers are lining up their cars and warming engines before going out for a run. I will be bringing you a spotlight-o-rama post of some of the cooler cars that I came across…
… just to see what your modern day D1 machines are looking like – from what big teams like DrooP put together, to what those that manage to participate in the series with far smaller budgets come up with. Diversity is the most exciting thing in any drift series I think.
It doesn’t look like much has changed in the 19 months since my last D1 round…
Much of the same cars are still there like the GP Sports/Toyo Tires S15 of Sakuma and the RPS13 of Kawabata. These cars have been perfected with so much time having been put into setting them up; it’s not surprising a move away from the known and trusted puts some off.
Kuniaki Takahashi of course doesn’t belong in that camp. His move onto the Mark X platform back in 2011 was a very respected one and one that in no way hampered his competitiveness in that year’s championship. His car is looking even better this year thanks to the face-lifted Mark X front end. Oh and Utumi’s S15, despite not having changed much, is still a badass looking machine and one that likes to take to the sky as shown by the opening picture!
There is another type of driver I respect in D1: those that like Iwai continue to rock old school rides, despite being confronted with the highly powerful and more modern cars sported by the rest of the field. Hats off to you sir!
This sort of debate always brings you to the question: what makes a true drift car? A well set up older car like the 3S-powered DrooP AE86, or a true race-car build like the ZN6 the same team put together for Hibino? Tough one right?
What has always made Odaiba fun is the number of foreign drivers that are given space to show off their skills in front of the Japanese crowds. However this year, Indonesian driver Emmanuel Amandio has competed in the full championship, and behind the wheel of his JZX100 has proven to be rather competitive among established drifters.
I saw as soon as he went out that he was there to drive 110%, probably generating more smoke than any one other driver and not afraid to take some aggressive lines with his spare car, as you can see in his barrier brush above. He managed to beat Ueno in the T&E E92 and move up to the Best 16 competition.
Hibino seemed to be more at home in his EJ-powered 86 compared to when I saw him take the car out in its debut round last year in Odaiba, going into the Round 6 competition in seventh place in the standings.
But everyone’s eyes were on Kawabata’s S15…
… and Naoto Suenaga’s Team Orange S15, the car that has replaced his Evo 9. Powered by the dry-sumped RB26 that was in Kumakubo’s Laurel, Suenaga has really found a superb set-up, landing him only two points behind Kawabata, point leader in this year’s season.
Suenaga was doing superbly all day until he came up against Imamura and his nichei S15…
… both drivers driving infallibly, run after run until Suenaga managed to grab the victory by a small margin.
Here is Russian driver Fedorov Ilia and Amandio, once again proving that D1 is in dire need of a foreign presence to throw a little unexpected excitement into the proceedings. These guys fought hard and aggressively, pushing their respective cars to limits that most Japanese drivers weren’t even attempting to risk, so big thumbs up because that’s what drifting should be all about!
But then in the battle against Suenaga and Utsumi something a little unexpected happened, that sort of redefined ‘limits’. After Suenaga lost his drift mid corner and almost came to a stop, Utsumi ended up using his steered passenger side wheel as a ramp…
… a ramp that sent him flying up into the air with a massive backfire, lightning up the whole underside of his S15. I’ve been shooting drifting for well over a decade now and I’ve never seen anything like that happen!
More fire? This time it was from the external wastegate on Kawabata’s S15 in his battle against Amandio.
Kawabata ended up going against Utsumi in the final and grabbing the win, taking those points that would guarantee he stayed in front of Suenaga in the standings, clenching yet another D1 Championship title. With the Exhibition to follow the next day, the weekend wasn’t quite over yet, but before we take a look at more drifting, there are some cars we should check out first…