ERC : New Year wishes from Austria ! / Meilleurs vœux d’Autriche !

It was in Freistadt (Upper Austria) that the teams and crews participating in the FIA European Rally Championship rang in 2014, and Best-of-RallyLive joins them in wishing you all a very happy New Year…

C’est depuis Freistadt, en Haute Autriche, que les concurrents du Championnat d’Europe des Rallyes FIA et Best-of-RallyLive vous adressent leurs meilleurs vœux pour 2014. Qui pour succéder au double vainqueur sortant Jan Kopecky, absent cette année ?

The 2014 ERC kicks off with the 31^st edition of Austria’s Jännerrallye which will start in Freistadt, near the Czech border, on Saturday, January 4. The event features 18 wintry asphalt stages totalling 245.60km, while the compact layout is practically identical to that of 2013 when Jan Kopecky (who isn’t contesting this year’s ERC) claimed the top prize in his Skoda Fabia S2000/Michelin, ahead of Bryan Bouffier.

Once again, tyre choices promise to play a crucial role in conditions that are likely to vary from dry or damp, to frosty, icy or snowy. Indeed, the 2014 Jännerrallye sees Michelin introduce a new asphalt range which is founded on a new tread pattern available in a choice of three compounds (R01/extra soft, R11/soft, R21/medium). Depending on the conditions encountered in the Austrian Alps, Michelin’s runners will also have a choice of two snow tyres, namely the ‘wide’ NA00 (with or without studs) and a narrower studded alternative (10/65/16).

More than 80 crews are expected to start the rally which counts towards the Czech championship, as well. Spectators can look forward to an interesting fight between the reigning WRC-2 champion Robert Kubica (Ford Fiesta RRC), the Polish champion Kajetan Kajetanowicz (Ford Fiesta R5), the Czech champion Vaclav Pech (Mini S2000) and the Austrian champion Raimund Baumschlager (Skoda Fabia S2000).

Last year’s ERC Production champion Andreas Aigner will be on home soil in his Stohl Racing-run Peugeot 207 S2000, while the 2012 IRC Production champ Robert Consani from France has entered a similar 207 S2000 tended by Delta Racing. Other potential winners include the Czech Republic’s Pavel Valousek (Ford Fiesta R5) and Russian youngster Vasiliy Gryazin (Fiesta S2000).

The slippery stages are likely to suit the Mitsubishi and Subaru R4 runners, whose ranks include the Czech Republic’s Jan Cerny, plus Austrians Beppo Harrach and Hermann Neubauer.

Action will begin with a Qualifying Stage on Friday, January 3, to determine the start order, followed by a start ceremony in the centre of Freistadt. The competition ends on Sunday after two attempts at the weekend’s longest stage, ‘Bad Zell-Tragwein-Aisttal’ (25 km).

Organisé tout début janvier, le Jännerrallye ouvre la saison européenne des rallyes dans la froidure autrichienne. La 31^e édition s’élancera samedi 4 janvier de Freistadt, près de la frontière tchèque, et proposera un parcours asphalte/glace/neige de 245,60 km chronométrés sensiblement identique à celui de 2013 sur lequel avait triomphé Jan Kopecky et sa Skoda Fabia S2000/Michelin devant Bryan Bouffier.

Si les 18 épreuves spéciales sont concentrées autour de Freistadt, où se tient le parc d’assistance et où s’effectuent les changements de pneus, les choix de pneumatiques sont tout de même très délicats car dans un seul groupe, certaines spéciales peuvent être sèches ou humides et d’autres givrées, verglacées et enneigées. Clous ou pas clous ? Pneus neige ou pas ?

A l’occasion du Jännerrallye, Michelin lance sa nouvelle gamme de pneus rallye asphalte « Compétition-Clients » 2014 avec trois produits dotés d’une nouvelle sculpture : R01 (extra soft), R11 (soft) et R21 (medium). Pour parer à toutes les conditions qui peuvent sévir en Haute-Autriche début janvier, les pilotes Michelin disposeront aussi de pneus neige « larges » NA00 (avec ou sans clous) et de pneus neige « étroits » cloutés (10/65/16).

Plus de 80 d’équipages devraient être au départ de ce rallye qui compte également pour le Championnat de République Tchèque. On attend une superbe bagarre entre le Champion du monde WRC-2 Robert Kubica (Ford Fiesta RRC), le Champion de Pologne Kajetan Kajetanowicz (Ford Fiesta R5), le Champion tchèque Vaclav Pech (Mini S2000) et le Champion d’Autriche Raimund Baumschlager (Skoda Fabia S2000).

A domicile, le Champion ERC Production Andreas Aigner aura une belle carte à jouer sur sa Peugeot 207 S2000 de Stohl Racing. A suivre aussi les débuts du Champion IRC Production 2012 Robert Consani sur une 207 S2000 de Delta Racing. Le Tchèque Pavel Valousek (Ford Fiesta R5) et le jeune russe Vasiliy Gryazin (Fiesta S2000) sont eux aussi candidats à la victoire.

Ce terrain rapide, vallonné et glissant, convient également très bien aux véloces Mitsubishi et Subaru R4. Le Tchèque Jan Cerny, les Autrichien Beppo Harrach et Hermann Neubauer pourraient briguer les accessits.

Une Qualifying Stage est organisée vendredi 3 janvier pour déterminer l’ordre des départs, avant la cérémonie de départ dans le centre de Freistadt. Arrivée dimanche 5 janvier après deux passages successifs dans Bad Zell-Tragwein-Aisttal (25 km) la plus longue spéciale du rallye.

LIX TOLL'S TRACKED DEFENDER 110

Lix Toll Garage, in Perthshire has recreated one of its trademark machines, a bright yellow tracked Land Rover.

For years, a towering Series IIA Cuthbertson Conversion stood sentinel outside the Highland garage and was photographed by countless Land Rover fans, including LRO’s Mark Saville. That was over 20 years ago. Now, he’s finally got behind the wheel and driven this latest incarnation off-road. See how he got on in the February issue of LRO or watch a video of the man and machine in action below.

via http://www.lro.com

YAMAHA XJR400 BY ELLASPEDE

Let’s say you’re a relatively new convert to motorcycling. And you want a custom bike, something a little smaller and cheaper than an 883 Sportster, Triumph Bonneville or Moto Guzzi V7.

The obvious option is the Yamaha SR400. Or maybe one of the more compact vintage Honda CBs. But Australian builder Ellaspede has come up with another solution—the Yamaha XJR400, little brother to the evergreen XJR1300.

“Being an import-only model in Australia, there aren’t that many good XJR400s around,” says Ellaspede’s Hughan Seary. “So locating one took a while. Our client Matthew managed to find a great example in black, rode it in, and we started discussing possibilities. Whilst taking cues from our previous XJR, he had some other ideas he wanted to explore.”

One of the cues was cafe styling, so clip-ons and a humped seat were in order. The ability to carry a passenger was another requirement, so Ellaspede made the custom seat unit just long enough to achieve this.

Under the seat are discreet frame mods, relocated electrical items, and a custom rear guard with a plate relocation bracket to help with legal requirements. The removal of the airbox left space for BMC pods to feed air into re-jetted carbs, and the standard headers are now hooked up to a SuperTrapp muffler.

A lowered headlight and Acewell gauge help clean up the front end, while Posh indicators and an LED taillight take care of the other lighting duties. To reduce the revs, the front cog was swapped out for a 1-tooth-up unit. Many fabricated, powder coated, painted and polished items help finish the look.

Matthew got himself a cool ride because he chose a donor bike that didn’t need a huge amount of work to produce a sharp, semi-modern take on the cafe racer genre. If you were a young rider looking for an affordable custom, would you have done the same?

from BIKEEXIF

Snapshot, 1963: 500 miles with Steve McQueen and Bud Ekins

500 miles can be a long haul, especially on two wheels through the barren Californian desert. It is therefore advisable to take some entertaining companions along for the ride. How about Bud Ekins and Steve McQueen?

John Dominis snapped this shot of the two Hollywood heroes in 1963, during a motorcycle endurance race across the Mojave Desert in California. That’s Steve McQueen on the right, and Bud Ekins on the left tilting into the corner. The rider in the centre remains unknown. Ekins was one of the most famous stuntmen of his generation. He was often McQueen’s stunt double – in ‘The Great Escape’, he jumped the Triumph TR6 over the barbed-wire fence, and in ‘Bullitt’ he drifted the Ford Mustang through the streets of San Francisco. He also successfully competed in motorcycle racing, and occasionally at the helm of even bigger machines – trucks, for example, in the notorious Mint 400 and Stardust 7-11 desert races. Ekins and McQueen were great friends, until the latter’s death in 1980. 

Photo: John Dominis/Time Life Pictures/Getty Images

Numerous classic motorcycles can be found for sale in Classic Driver Market.

balai !