mercredi 15 janvier 2014

Ogier hits the ground running / Ogier donne le ton

The fastest time on the shakedown test ahead of the 2014 Rallye Monte-Carlo was recorded by Sébastien Ogier (VW/Michelin). Citroën newcomers Kris Meeke and Mads Ostberg were next, while the fastest Ford runner was Robert Kubica (5th). Thierry Neuville was sixth in the new Hyundai i20 WRC.

Le Shakedown du Rallye Monte-Carlo a été remporté par Sébastien Ogier (VW/Michelin) devant les nouveaux pilotes Citroën, Kris Meeke et Mads Ostberg. Robert Kubica a réalisé le meilleur temps des pilotes Ford devant Thierry Neuville et sa nouvelle Hyundai i20 WRC.

This morning’s shakedown stage (3.52km), which used the former Châteauvieux hill climb run near Gap, provided an initial idea of the week’s pecking order. Competitors were greeted by clear a blue sky, but the thermometer read -5°C as the cars pulled out of the service park at sunrise.

Ogier was fastest on both his first two attempts (2m16.0s, then 2m15.3s) with his Volkswagen Polo R WRC equipped with ‘super-soft’ Michelin Pilot Sport tyres.

Citroën’s Kris Meeke and Mads Ostberg opted for the ‘soft’ Michelin and succeeded in squeezing past Latvala and Robert Kubica (Ford Fiesta RS WRC, ‘super-soft’). Meanwhile, Neuville and Sordo clocked up 2m19.0s and 2m20.8s respectively in the Hyundai i20 WRC.

The third and fourth runs didn’t see any improvements and Ogier, now on ‘soft’ rubber, was the only driver to get beneath the 2m20s mark (2m19.7). The final attempts of Meeke and Ostberg bagged exactly the same time (2m20.4s). “The stage was muddy and extremely slippery on the ‘soft’ tyre,” commented Meeke.

The final timesheet saw Ogier figure in first place (2m15.3s), chased by Citroën DS3 WRC drivers Meeke and Ostberg, and Latvala (Polo R WRC. Kubica (5^th) was the fastest Ford representative, half-a-second better than Hirvonen (7^th). Thierry Neuville (i20 WRC) was sixth (+3.1s). Dani Sordo (Hyundai) trailed his new team-mate by two seconds, but was quicker than Mikkelsen (VW) and Bouffier (Ford). François Delecour went out with studded tyres on his Fiesta WRC.

Michelin’s top drivers have a choice of four types of tyre for this year’s Rallye Monte-Carlo, namely a snow tyre with or without studs, plus ‘soft’ and ‘super-soft’ versions of the firm’s asphalt tyre. The RC1 priority drivers have a total allocation of 82 tyres to choose from (24 softs, 24 super-softs, 24 studded snow tyres and 10 snow tyres without studs) but may only use 40 on the rally.

Engineers from Michelin Motorsport and their counterparts at Michelin’s Technology Centre have develop a new compound for the Alpin 4 snow tyre which combines enhanced performance with improved longevity, especially on dry roads. This solution is recommended when the proportion of snow and/or ice on a stage exceeds 20%. If used, it will most likely be employed in its studded form.

The regulations concerning the studs themselves have changed slightly compared with 2013, since the number of studs per tyre has come down from 240 to 200. The maximum overall stud length is 15mm, of which only 2mm may protrude from the tread blocks.

Tracé sur le parcours d’une ancienne course-de-côte, à Châteauvieux, le Shakedown a donné une première idée des forces en présence sur ce 82^e Rallye Monte-Carlo. Le ciel est bleu au-dessus des Hautes-Alpes ce matin, mais les températures étaient négatives (-5°C) quand les premières autos ont quitté le parc d’assistance.

Sébastien Ogier et sa Volkswagen Polo R WRC chaussée de pneus Michelin Pilot Sport super-soft ont signé les meilleurs chronos des deux premiers tours en 2min16s0 puis 2min15s3.

En pneus Michelin soft, les pilotes Citroën Kris Meeke et Mads Ostberg se sont positionnés devant Latvala et Robert Kubica (Ford Fiesta RS WRC, super-soft). Pour leurs premiers tours de roue officiels, les Hyundai i20 WRC ont réalisé 2min19s0 (Neuville) et 2min20s8 (Sordo).

Les chronos n’ont pas été améliorés lors des 3^e et 4^e passages. Reparti en pneus soft, Sébastien Ogier fut le seul à rester sous la barre des 2min20s (2min19s7). Meeke et Ostberg ont réalisé le même chrono (2mon20s4) à leur dernière tentative. « La route est boueuse et c’était hyper glissant en pneus soft », a déclaré Meeke.

Ogier a donc remporté ce Shakedown en 2min15s3 devant les Citroën DS3 WRC de Meeke et Ostberg, et la Polo R WRC de Latvala. Robert Kubica (5^e) a signé le meilleur temps des pilotes Ford, 5/10^e devant son équipier Hirvonen (7^e). Thierry Neuville a placé l’i20 WRC au 6^e rang, à 3s1 du meilleur temps sur les 3,52 km. Dani Sordo (Hyundai) a fini à 2s de son équipier, devant Mikkelsen et Bouffier. François Delecour avait opté pour des pneus neige cloutés sur sa Ford.

Quatre types de pneumatiques sont autorisés au Rallye Monte-Carlo 2014 : pneus neige cloutés et non cloutés, pneus asphalte soft et super-soft. Les pilotes prioritaires RC1 disposent de 82 pneus (24 soft, 24 super-soft, 24 neige cloutés et 10 neige non-cloutés) et ne pourront en utiliser que 40 au maximum pour la course.

Les ingénieurs de Michelin Motorsport et du Centre de Technologies Michelin ont développé une nouvelle gomme pour le pneu neige Alpin 4 qui offre une meilleure performance et une meilleure longévité (notamment sur routes sèches). Préconisé dès que la neige/glace dépasse 20% sur une spéciale, ce pneu neige pourrait être majoritairement utilisé sur le rallye dans sa version cloutée.

Le cloutage a également été modifié par rapport à l’an passé. Désormais, chaque pneu dispose de 200 clous (contre 240). La longueur maximum des clous est de 15mm et ils ne peuvent dépasser de plus de 2mm de la bande de roulement.

Dakar, Leg 10: Roma under increasing pressure / étape 10 : Al-Attiyah et Peterhansel reviennent

Victory on SS10 has heightened the chances of Nasser Al-Attiyah (Mini/Michelin) of finishing on Saturday’s podium. After shaving a further 10 minutes off the gap that separates him from Nani Roma, Stéphane Peterhansel is now only 2m15s short of the lead. Carlos Sainz has retired.

En remportant la 10e étape, Nasser Al-Attiyah (Mini/Michelin) est revenu sur le podium provisoire. Stéphane Peterhansel a repris dix minutes à son équipier Nani Roma et pointe désormais à 2min15s du leader. Le podium du Dakar 2014 pourrait se jouer demain. Carlos Sainz a abandonné.

Antofagasta, which sits between volcanic outcrops and the Pacific coast, is playing host to tonight’s bivouac to the north of the city which has expanded haphazardly as the port has grown in importance. Like Iquique, it is one of the Dakar’s near-mandatory stopover points and competitors have come to know the tracks that crisscross the nearby sandy and rocky plateaux practically by heart.

Today’s stage was divided into two parts and the first (231km) was won by Nasser Al-Attiyah (Mini/Michelin), ahead of the car class’s other 79 survivors (from 140 starters). It also saw Peterhansel (2^nd, +1m16s) close the gap to team-mate Roma by 7m1s. Orlando Terranova (Mini) got away to a poor start, however, when he fell from third after dropping almost half-an-hour in sand dunes. The Argentine’s woes allowed Al-Attiyah to emerge in the top three overall.

After suffering a big delay on Tuesday, Sainz was third-fastest on the first part of the stage but left the road on the ensuing road section. His SMG Buggy was destroyed in the incident and the Spaniard himself was taken to hospital for checks after sustaining minor injuries.

The stage’s second section was again dominated by Al-Attiyah who went on to collect his second win of this year’s rally, 3m14s clear of Peterhansel, who is now only 2m15s behind Roma in the provisional standings. The Spaniard was third today (+13m45s).

Al-Attiyah recovered his footing on the podium when Giniel de Villiers (Toyota) and Terranova both dropped around 30 minutes today. The two drivers are now fourth and fifth overall respectively, split by just 20 seconds!

Thursday’s programme will take competitors further south to El Salvador in the middle of Chile’s Atacama Desert. There is no overnight halt planned in Copiapo this year but the route does visit the towering dunes that are close to the busy mining town. The stage itself (605km) is the longest uninterrupted competitive stretch of the rally and 100km are over sand and dunes. It could well prove decisive in the final outcome.

Coincée entre les protubérances telluriques et le Pacifique, Antofagasta accueille le bivouac de cette 10^e étape du Dakar 2014 situé à la sortie nord de la ville qui a grandi de façon anarchique autour de son port de commerce. Comme Iquique, Antofagasta est devenue un passage quasi obligé du rallye et les pilotes connaissent désormais parfaitement les pistes qui traversent les plateaux sableux et rocheux dominant l’océan.

Une spéciale divisée en deux sections était proposée aux 80 voitures rescapées (sur 140 au départ) aujourd’hui. La première portion longue de 231 km a tourné à l’avantage de Nasser Al-Attiyah (Mini/Michelin), mais Stéphane Peterhansel (2^e, à 1min16s) a repris 7min01s au leader du rallye Nani Roma. Mauvais début de parcours aussi pour « Orly » Terranova (Mini) qui a perdu près d’une demi-heure dans les dunes et sa 3^e place provisoire au classement général au profit de Nasser Al-Attiyah.

Très retardé hier, Carlos Sainz a signé le 3^e chrono de cette section, mais sur la neutralisation suivante, l’Espagnol est sorti de la route. Très légèrement blessé, Carlos a été transféré l’hôpital pour des examens de contrôle. Son Buggy SMG est HS.

Le second secteur chronométré a confirmé la domination du Qatari sur les pistes chiliennes. Nasser Al-Attiyah a remporté sa 2^e victoire d’étape 2014 avec 3min14s d’avance sur Peterhansel qui revient à 2min15s de son équipier Nani Roma au classement général. L’Espagnol a terminé 3^e aujourd’hui à 13min45s du vainqueur.

Al-Attiyah est de retour sur le podium provisoire car Orlando Terrano (Mini) et Giniel de Villiers (Toyota) ont perdu une demi-heure aujourd’hui. Les deux infortunés sont 4^e et 5^e du général et séparés par 20 secondes !

Le Dakar poursuit sa descente du Chili demain avec la 11^e étape qui emmène les concurrents à El Salvador, au cœur de l’Atacama. Cette année, pas de halte à Copiapo, mais les équipages passeront tout près, dans les montagnes de sable qui entourent la cité minière. La spéciale est longue de 605 km à parcourir d’une traite, dont près de 100 km de sable et dunes. Le rallye et le podium 2014 pourraient donc se jouer demain.

Classement étape 10

1. Al-Attiyah/Cruz (Mini/Michelin), 4h23min35s – 2. Peterhansel/Cottret (Mini/Michelin), +3min50s – 3. Roma/Périn (Mini/Michelin), +13min45s – 4. De Villiers/Von Zitzewitz (Toyota/Michelin), +28min15s – 5. Terranova/Fiuza (Mini/Michelin), +33min48s…

Classement général

1. Roma/Périn (Mini/Michelin), 38h52min57s – 2. Peterhansel/Cottret (Mini/Michelin), +2min15s – 3. Al-Attiyah/Cruz (Mini/Michelin), +46min01s – 4. De Villiers/Von Ztizewitz (Toyota/Michelin), +1h14min16s – 5. Terranova/Fiuza (Mini/Michelin), +1h14min36s…

Dakar,Leg 10: Barreda collects fourth stage win / étape 10 : quatrième victoire pour Barreda

Joan Barreda (Honda-Michelin) took his stage-win tally for this year to four victories to equal the personal record he set in 2013. The Spaniard beat team-mate Helder Rodrigues and Cyril Despres (Yamaha Factory Racing-Michelin), but Marc Coma (KTM-Michelin) still tops the provisional order by a margin of 44 minutes.

Joan Barreda (Honda-Michelin) remporte sa quatrième victoire d’étape et égale ainsi son propre record de 2013. L’Espagnol s’impose devant son coéquipier Helder Rodrigues et Cyril Despres (Yamaha Factory Racing – Michelin). Marc Coma (KTM-Michelin) reste aux commandes du général avec 44 minutes d’avance.

The 10^th stage (631km) of the 2014 Dakar took the remaining 82 bikers from Iquique to Antofagasta along the Pacific coast. It was divided into two parts, with the first 231km section chiefly on sand and the second moving on to rougher ground where competitors had to be aware of the occasional patch of ‘fesh-fesh’.

Joan Barreda took the win with a time of 7h12m. He was fastest up to Check Point 1 at Km106 and continued at a strong pace to pull comfortably clear of his chasers. He finished 8m0s and 9m40s clear of Rodrigues and Despres, while Olivier Pain (+11m11s, Yamaha Factory Racing-Michelin) produced a good run to claim fourth place, ahead of Marc Coma (+11m26s).

Israel (Speedbrain-Michelin) figured in second place early on but was hit by a non-competing vehicle at Km114 and was forced to retire from the rally. Emergency services were soon on the scene but his injuries are not judged to be serious.

Today’s result has had no effect on the leaderboard which is still topped by Coma, ahead of Barreda (44m10s) who took a 15m30s penalty. The gap to third-placed Jordi Viladoms (KTM-Michelin), who was eighth today, has increased to 2h2m2s. Despres is now sixth (+2h28m16s).

Thursday’s itinerary (749km, including a stage of 605km) takes riders back into the Atacama Desert and the formidable dunes near Copiapo, not to mention some taxing navigation and technically-challenging portions through dry river beds.

La 10^ème étape menait les 82 rescapés d’Iquique àAntofagasta en parcourant 631 km contre la montre le long de la côte Pacifique. La spéciale était divisée en deux sections. La première partie de 231 km composée majoritairement de sable et une seconde moitié plus cassante où les motards devaient éviter les pièges du fesh-fesh.

Joan Barreda est crédité du meilleur temps en bouclant les 631 km en 07h12min. Le Catalan a viré en tête au Check Point 1 (CP – km 106) et a ensuite imprimé un rythme soutenu pour creuser l’écart sur ses poursuivants. Il rallie l’arrivée avec une avance respective de 8min et 9min40s sur Rodrigues et Despres. Olivier Pain (Yamaha Factory Racing – Michelin) signe à nouveau une belle performance à terminant au pied du podium (+11min11s) devant Marc Coma (+11min26s).

Deuxième en début de course, Israel (Speedbrain-Michelin) a malheureusement été percuté par un véhicule civil au km 114 et a été contraint à l’abandon. Pris en charge rapidement, il souffre de diverses contusions sans grande gravité.

Pas de changement au classement général, Marc Coma compte 44min10s d’avance sur Barreda pénalisé par 15min30. Jordi Viladoms (KTM-Michelin), huitième du jour, est relégué à 2h02min02s. Cyril Despres gagne une place et remonte à la sixième position à 2h28min16s.

Demain,le Dakar plonge au cœur du désert de l’Atacama avec les dunes tant redoutées de Copiapo. Les motards seront confrontés à l’ensemble des difficultés que rassemble un rallye-raid : endurance (749 dont 605 km de spéciale), navigation, passages techniques dans les rios et franchissement de dunes.

Classement étape 10 :

1.Barreda (Honda-Michelin) – 2. Rodrigues (Honda) +8min - 3. Despres (Yamaha-Michelin) +9min40 – 4. Pain (Yamaha-Michelin) +11min11s – 5. Coma (KTM-Michelin) +11min26s, …

Classement général :

1.Coma (KTM-Michelin) – 2. Barreda (Honda-Michelin) +44min10s - 3. Viladoms (KTM-Michelin) + 2H02min02s – 4. Pain (Yamaha-Michelin) +2h16min12s – 5. Rodrigues (Honda) +2h21min16s,

BAD NEWS : ADIÓS, RADICAL DUCATI

News has just broken that Radical Ducati is no more. The Madrid workshop run by Pepo Rosell and Reyes Ramon has suddenly shut down, despite a string of high-profile customs and critical acclaim.

A brief statement on Radical Ducati’s Facebook page signaled the end. “It has been more than 15 years of passion, designing, fabricating, riding and developing my dreams,” said Pepo. “Now is time to stop and make a change in my life.”

We’ve always been huge fans of Radical Ducati’s work. Who can resist beautiful Italian machines, carefully constructed, oozing verve and style?

Here’s a brief retrospective of the best moments from the Spanish masters. Adiós, guys—you’ll be missed.

Somewhere under here is a Ducati GT1000, given a heavy dose of attitude. The Cafe Veloce was also treated to an uprated dry clutch, new suspension, a shortened frame, a modified fuel tank and clip-on bars.

Based on a 1963 Ducati 125 TS, the F3 (above) was a purpose-built track demon: stripped back, beefed up and ready to give even the most seasoned rider a kick in the pants.

The 7½ Sportiva was a Ducati 749R given a retro flavor and put on a diet. And being Radical Ducati, they tore the bike down and modified virtually every component apart from the trellis main frame and fuel tank.

Inspired by racing Ducatis from the 1970s and the ‘monocilindrica’ 450cc, the starting point of the 9½ (above) was a 1997 Monster M900, chopped at the back to accommodate a racing-style tail unit.

Based on an ancient Ducati 125, the Carallo Sport was designed to compete in the legendary Motogiro d’Italia.

You could be forgiven for thinking it’s a Ducati Pantah, given the color scheme, but ‘Pantahstica‘ is based on a Cagiva Alazzurra, a mid-80s touring derivative of the Pantah.

Towards the end, Radical Ducati experimented with other marques. ‘Dirt Rad‘ (above) was a heavily modified Yamaha XT600, sporting a FZR600 fork and a Hagon shock. The air-cooled motor was rebuilt with polished and ported heads, and exhaled via a Spark GP megaphone muffler.

Three months ago, Radical Ducati released ‘Interceptor,’ a BMW R80 ST built in conjunction with the French BMW specialist Max Boxer. But the Ducati links remained strong: the front end is from a SportClassic, and the triple trees are from a Monster. The motor is a BMW R100 boxer, the muffler is from an S 1000 RR, and the tank is a modified Laverda item. Interceptor was one of the most heavily modified and visually arresting bikes from the Radical Ducati stable, and a fitting swansong.

Radical Ducati’s closure is sad news—not only for Ducatistis, but also for custom motorcycle fans of any persuasion. Hopefully Pepo and Reyes will return soon, and seduce us once again with more high-performance, stylish customs.

from BIKEEXIF

StuntFreaksTeam – Winter Mayhem

Some guys from Finland making the most of the snowy conditions!

HUSQVARNA NUDA CUSTOM

By Wesley Reyneke | Rather Be Riding

I was pretty excited when the Husqvarna Nuda 900R was released in 2012—and equally disappointed when it was discontinued, following Pierer Industrie AG’s acquisition of the Italian marque a year ago. The supermoto-esque naked featured a punched out, 898cc version of the Rotax twin-cylinder mill found in BMW’s F800 series, and a tubular steel frame.

This particular Nuda belongs to Marc Woodward, an ex-motorcycle racer based in Brighton who builds café racers as a hobby. As an ex-racer, Marc says his philosophy “is to try and create café racers that handle and go as good as they look.” He takes this philosophy fairly seriously—his radically restyled Nuda now kicks out a healthy 110bhp, thanks to a full Arrow race exhaust system and a remapped ECU.

It also features the front end from a Ducati 1198S, earning it the ‘Huscati’ nickname. The Ducati’s Öhlins forks have been re-sleeved to fit the Nuda’s stock yokes, which have been milled to remove the original handlebar mounts. Since the Nuda came from the factory with an adjustable Öhlins rear shock, there was no need to rework the rear end.

The biggest visual changes are the new tank and seat—which are both catalog items made specifically for the Husqvarna Nuda by the German parts specialist LSL, which also supplied the rearsets. The leather tank strap was hand made by Born & Bred in Brighton. Other finishing kit includes carbon fiber clip-ons, Rizoma brake reservoirs and red Venhill braided brake hoses.

D-Lucks Custom Paint Workshop—another local Brighton business, and long-time Spirit of the Seventies collaborator—was responsible for the beautifully executed paint work. “The tank is a chrome metal flake with gold leaf, black and red pinstripes, and matte finish tank cut outs with shadow effect race numbers”, explains Marc, ’77′ being his old race number.

Marc is, in his own words, “pretty obsessive about getting the details right” on his builds—and it shows. To my eye the ‘Huscati’ is a perfectly executed, performance-based modern retro.

Wouldn’t it be good to see more Nuda-based customs in the future?

Extra special thanks to Merry Michau for the images.via BIKEEXIF

5 things you didn't know about Maserati

San Marco Maserati boat on display at Museo Cases Enzo Ferrari last year

As you might expect, surviving in the automotive industry for 100 years brings some unusual tales of triumph and tribulation. We've compiled some of the lesser-known facts from Maserati's past...

Making waves

Maserati engines were used in powerboat racing in the 50s and 60s

Maserati engines had been used to power nautical racing machines since the 1930s, when World Champion powerboat racer Count Theo Rossi fitted them in his specially made boats – one of which used a pair of Maserati V16s. The 50s and 60s saw Maserati’s six- and eight-cylinder engines increasingly used by the powerboat gentry for their racing runabouts, a likely factor being that engineer Giulio Alfieri (previously a maritime engineer) was now on board.

Motorbikes... and gender-specific scooters

This 1956 Maserati 125 GT Super will be auctioned by Artcurial in Feb 2014

When, in the early 50s, the Maserati group of companies was divided between the Orsi siblings, an oversight by the notary meant the division which manufactured spark plugs was allowed to continue using both the Maserati name and the Trident logo. Along with a variety of motorcycles, Fabbrica Candele e Accumulatori Maserati also produced a 50cc scooter with gender-specific frame styles: the T2/U (U for Uomo, or man) and the T2/D (D for Donna, or woman), the latter having a step-through frame.

The gangster's choice

Johnny Sacrimoni's Maserati is washed in The Sopranos

It seems that an unusually high proportion of on-screen gangsters have shown a penchant for Maseratis, perhaps tempted by the combination of power and understated luxury. Devious drivers include Johnny Sacrimoni and Christopher Moltisanti from The Sopranos (the same 4200 Coupé), while the villains in Licence To Kill's tanker chase opted for a 425 Biturbo. You can also see a Merak parked next to Tony's Porsche 928 outside the shady Babylon Club in Scarface, and both The Godfather III and an early episode of Miami Vice saw prominent underworld characters chauffeur-driven in Quattroporte IIIs.

Mussolini's Maserati

Mussolini meets Tazio Nuvolari (centre) and the Alfa Romeo team. He had commissioned a one-off V16 Maserati some years earlier

It's well-documented that Ferry Porsche designed a car at the behest of Adolf Hitler, but lesser-known is the tale of Maserati's comission to build a V16-engined town car for the personal use of Benito Mussolini, presumably using the engine from the V4/V5 racing cars. The project was abandoned before it came to fruition – perhaps the reason behind Mussolini's preferential switch to Alfa Romeo. He can be seen behind the wheel in the picture above, meeting Tazio Nuvolari (centre) and the rest of the Alfa Romeo racing team.

Beaten by gentility

Fangio (Ferrari) leads Moss (Maserati) in the 1956 Italian Grand Prix at Monza.

Some readers will already be familiar with this tale, but as an act of gentlemanly behaviour, it's as good an example of changing times as the Ferrari-Maserati relationship itself. In one of the most thrilling races of its era, the 1956 Monza GP saw legends Moss (Maserati) and Fangio (Ferrari) contesting the season's showdown, with the drivers’ title still to be decided. Fangio’s car encountered mechanical trouble, so his English team-mate Peter Collins gave up his car for him (after his Italian counterpart Luigi Musso had refused), despite being in contention for the Championship himself. The Argentinean’s resulting second-placed finish allowed the pair to split the points, earning Juan Manuel Fangio the title. However, Fangio would bring the Championship trophy to Casa del Tridente the following year.

Photos: Museo Casa Enzo Ferrari; Maserati; Artcurial; IMCDB; Getty Images

Bienvenue en WRC 2014 !

A moins de deux jours de la première spéciale du Championnat du monde des Rallyes FIA 2014, édition n°42, le parc d’assistance du Rallye Monte-Carlo s’installe peu à peu au Parc des Sports de Gap.

Pour le retour du rallye à Gap, dans les Hautes-Alpes, les organisateurs ont dû trouver un emplacement assez vaste pour accueillir tous les motor-homes. Ils ont opté pour le complexe sportif à l’entrée sud de la ville. Nous sommes arrivés juste au moment où la dernière voiture d’usine était déchargée des semi-remorques, en provenance de Monaco où s’est déroulée la cérémonie de départ hier soir, sous une pluie battante.

Le parc d’assistance de Gap est assez particulier. Les teams sont éparpillés entre les différentes installations sportives, le stade, la piscine… L’immense motor-home Hyundai Motorsport a certainement dû rentrer au chausse-pied dans son emplacement.

En effet, la structure à un étage qui abrite l’atelier, l’hospitalité et les bureaux, ressemble à une véritable concession Hyundai que l’on peut trouver dans les zones commerciales. On a mesuré grosso-modo : 46 mètres de long sur 10 de large et 8 de haut ! Le sous-traitant espagnol en charge du montage aurait commencé jeudi dernier, nous a-t-on dit…

De leur côté, les pilotes ont bouclé les reconnaissances des 15 spéciales (9 différentes) et, comme d’habitude, la météo est au cœur des conversations. D’après le contrôleur du train Valence-Gap qui nous a emmenés à destination, les crêtes du Vercors que nous avons vu par la fenêtre du wagon culminaient à 1150 mètres et il y avait très peu de neige. A Gap, il faisait 10°C cet après-midi.

Les prévisions météo locales pour jeudi et vendredi parlent de pluies abondantes et de températures entre -1°C et +8°C. Idem pour Sospel, près du Col du Turini, pour samedi. « Je suppose qu’il y aura un peu de neige en altitude », nous a dit Bryan Bouffier, perplexe. « Jusque-là, les spéciales étaient claires. »

L’épreuve et les choix de pneus promettent d’être encore une fois très complexes pour les concurrents, d’autant que beaucoup vont débuter au volant de nouvelles machines et dans de nouvelles équipes cette année. Cela pourrait jouer en faveur d’Ogier, resté chez VW avec la n°1. Mais peut-être avons-nous trouvé un autre secret sur sa vitesse…

A traversant le parc pour déjeuner, on est tombé sur le chalet qui vendait des « Tourtons du Champsaur », une sorte de beignets de pommes de terre ou de fromage fondu, spécialité de la vallée alpine du Champsaur, où le Champion du monde 2013 est né. « Nos cuisines se trouvent tout près d’où Sébastien a vécu », nous a confirmé Fabrice. « C’est grâce à nos Tourtons qu’il va aussi vite en course, mais ne le dites surtout pas aux autres… »

10 for 100: Maseratis for sale in the Market

Inspired by the arrival of the marque’s centenary, we’ve chosen a selection of Maserati’s most desirable road cars – plus a very special racing car – all of which are currently for sale in the Classic Driver Market…