Les 12 Heures de Bathurst se sont terminées au sprint, la Ferrari de Craig Lowndes battant la Mercedes de Maximilian Buhk de 4/10es de seconde seulement. Laurens Vanthoor (Audi) a pris la 5e place.
L’intervention de la safety-car à moins de 20 minutes de l’arrivée pour permettre de dégager une Porsche en panne a entraîné un final à suspens dans ce tour d’horloge. Alors qu'il pensait avoir définitivement course gagnée après le "splash and dash" qui avait contraint Shane Van Gisbergen (McLaren) à un court passage au stand, le leader Craig Lowndes (Ferrari) voyait revenir comme un avion le jeune Allemand Maximilan Buhk (Mercedes). Mais ce dernier n'est pas parvenu à trouver l'ouverture et Lowndes est parvenu à repousser toutes les tentatives de son rival pour franchir la ligne avec 4/10es de seconde d’avance !
Deux Belges étaient de la partie en Australie. Si la Nissan GT-R sur laquelle était engagé Wolfgang Reip a disparu après une cinquantaine de tours (collision de l'équipier japonais de Wolfgang, lequel n'a donc pas pris le volant), l’Audi R8 LMS Ultra de Laurens Vanthoor a rejoint l’arrivée en 5e position dans le même tour que la Ferrari victorieuse après avoir été pénalisée d'un drive-through.
Classement final : 1. Peter Edwards-John Bowe-Craig Lowndes-Mika Salo (Ferrari 458) 296 tours ; 2. Harold Primat-Thomas Jäger-Maximilian Buhk (Mercedes SLS) à 00’’413 ; 3. Will Davison-Jacl Le Brocq-Greg Crick (Mercedes SLS) à 02’’402 ; 4. Tony Quinn-Klark Quinn-Andrew Kirkaldy-Shane Van Gisbergen (McLaren MP4-12c) à 03’’054 ; 5. Rahel Frey-Laurens Vanthoor-René Rast (Audi R8 LMS Ultra) à 35’’948 ; etc.
C’est un nouveau pilote qui inscrit son nom au prestigieux palmarès du Touquet : le Nordiste Adrien van Beveren s’est imposé au guidon de sa Yamaha après un superbe chassé-croisé avec Antoine Méo, sur KTM.
Les conditions étaient apocalyptiques avant le départ de la 9e édition de l’Enduropale du Touquet. La pluie et le vent n’ont pas épargné les plages du Nord-Pas-de-Calais en ce 9 février et les concurrents se sont élancés sur un sable détrempé à 12 h 30.
Le pilote Yamaha Adrien Van Beveren a commencé par prendre le meilleur départ en compagnie de Richard Fura (Kawasaki), avant que celui-ci ne prenne le meilleur à l’issue du premier des 12 tours à couvrir. Derrière Fura, Van Beveren et Aubin s’accrochent, alors que les favoris Potisek et Moussé (vainqueur des deux dernières éditions) sont plus loin.
Adrien Van Beveren a d’abord commencé par réaliser le holeshot. Dans des conditions météo dantesques. (Photo P. Orluc)
Au terme d’une heure de course, c’est Steve Ramon qui s’empare de la tête de la course devant Van Beveren, alors qu’on ne voit plus Potisek dans le classement. Ramon, puis Moussé, chutent et c’est un surprenant Antoine Méo qui prend alors le meilleur sur Van Beveren pour lui ravir la deuxième place. Le quadruple champion du monde d’enduro emmène sa KTM à un rythme d’enfer, prenant plus de 130 km/h dans la ligne droite (!) et enchaînant les dépassements chauds sur des concurrents à la peine, avant de passer Fura pour mener la course.
Antoine Méo, le quadruple champion du monde d’enduro, y a cru jusqu’au bout. La victoire s’est jouée à très peu. (Photo P. Orluc)
C’est alors que Fura va chuter en percutant violemment un pilote sur une réception de saut. Moto cassée, Fura va abandonner alors que le pilote percuté reste à terre et sera évacué par hélicoptère. C’est ensuite au tour du Belge Steve Ramon de passer en tête de la course, puis d’Arnaud Degoussée avant que Méo ne reprenne la tête de la course, suivi par les Yamaha de Degoussée et Van Beveren. Degoussée passera en tête qund la KTM de Méo devra repasser par les stands pour un problème technique, mais Méo reprendra la tête de la course au moment même où Van Beveren fait une chute sans conséquence (14 h 15).
Adrien Van Beveren, évidemment radieux, juste après l’arrivée. (Photo P. Orluc)
Hyper rapide, Méo fait frissonner les fans de KTM, qui n’a plus gagné au Touquet depuis 1986 (Kees van der Ven), mais il chutera à son tour et verra les pilotes YamahaMéo et Degoussée revenir sur lui à une heure de l’arrivée.
Le trio de tête se tient en moins de 10 secondes… méo creuse à nouveau l’écart, sa vitesse impressionne… Mais le dernier ravitaillement lui fera perdre la tête de la course au profit d’Adrien Van Beveren… Avec une poignée de secondes d’avance, le pilote Yamaha se dirige vers le drapeau à damiers et signe sa première victoire au Touquet ! A 23 ans.
Le podium final. Autour d’Adrien Van Beveren, Antoiné Méo, à gauche, et le Belge Steve Ramon, à droite. (Photo P. Orluc)
For all of the craziness that was in my previous post from the JCCA New Year Meeting at Fuji Speedway, it’s pretty bewildering to think that was just the parking lot. And while the unofficial side of the New Year Meeting is certainly good enough to be its own event, the official stuff is just as amazing.
With the change in venue from urban Tokyo to Fuji Speedway, there was certainly a shift in the New Year Meeting’s vibe for this year. This was largely due to the inclusion of open track sessions for a variety of vintage cars.
While the Tokyo events didn’t disappoint with their assortment of everything from Nissan Sunnys to Ferrari Dinos, I have to say that having all of the competition machinery present made things even better this time around.
The weather didn’t make for the most ideal racing conditions for rare and valuable classics, but the water didn’t seem to deter many of the drivers that wanted to break in 2014 with some proper track time.
If you’ve seen the final racing scene from the movie Rush, then you’ll know how treacherous the conditions can be at Fuji Speedway. While things last Sunday might not have been quiteas dangerous as the 1976 Formula 1 season finale, I still have a tremendous amount of respect for the drivers that were out there running hard in the rain.
Just like the any other automotive scene, Japan’s classic car community has layers; including restorers, collectors, cruisers and racers. Not surprisingly, Sunday’s event featured a big showing of vehicles from the latter category, such as this wicked 240ZG from Garage Masuda.
While some of the JCCA’s other meets include actual race groups, the New Year Meeting was more about free-running. That didn’t mean there weren’t plenty of full-on race cars that came out though. This 310 Nissan Sunny for example has been built for battle in the TS Cup series.
It’s not so often that you’ll see a Ford Capri and a Hakosuka Skyline parked beside each other. These cars may have come from completely different makers on opposite sides of the globe, but together you can see quite a few similarities. All it takes is a scene like this to reinforce my belief that 1970s-era race cars are the greatest of all time.
I love seeing legendary racing colors on ‘normal’ cars, and this wide-bodied SA22C RX-7 pulls off the Mazda 787B livery perfectly. If the car’s looks weren’t outstanding enough, you could hear the screaming rotary coming from miles away. Not unlike the actual 787B I suppose…
And speaking of legitimate historic race machines – here’s Nissan’s 1968 R381 (Chevrolet V8-powered), with the rival Toyota 7 lurking in the background. For many, just the chance to see these two legends up close was worth the price of admission alone.
Other run groups consisted of cars that were much more street friendly, like this S130Z Fairlady. People will always flock to the original S30 body style, but cars like this show that the newer models can be just as cool too. I love the factory coloring and period-correct SSR mesh wheels here.
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The longer you hang around the vintage Japanese car scene, the more you stop referring to cars by their model name. This for example, is not known as a first generation Toyota Celica. Instead, it’s called Daruma thanks to its resemblance to the traditional Japanese doll.
Ah yes, the good old San Maru Z. Of course this isn’t just any regular S30, but the well known Phalanx Machine that’s been a New Year Meeting regular for as long as I’ve been attending.
Datsun 510? Nissan Bluebird? Just say the words ‘Go Ichi Maru’ and any Japanese enthusiast will immediately know you are talking about the legendary machine pictured here.
There were tons of 510s that came out to Fuji on Sunday, including race cars, custom street cars, factory restos and even this super-cool rally machine out of Osaka. It’s like the famous Safari Rally 510, only cleaner.
And while famous Japanese models like the Skyline, Z, Celica and RX-7 made up the bulk of the track day participants, there were also plenty of more unusual machines getting in on the action.
Peek at the front of this car and you’ll probably think it’s another one of the many HakosukaSkylines that came to Fuji. Look a little harder, and you’ll notice it’s a rare wagon model that actually came out to race.
I can’t say that I’ve ever seen a Hakosuka Wagon and a 230 Nissan Gloria coupe running flat out side by side, and chances are I’ll probably never see it again. This sort of thing is why I love the New Year Meeting so much.
How about a 330 chassis Nissan Cedric Brougham four-door hardtop built for the circuit? Everything about this car is great, particularly that tough-sounding side dump exhaust.
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Aside from the cars that were actually running in the track sessions, the New Year Meeting paddock offered plenty of other stuff for kyusha fans to drool over.
I especially liked this first generation Corolla sedan from Shizuoka’s Wide Going Garage – as branded by the super cool hand-lettering on the rear quarter panel.
Oh how I love you JCCA New Year Meeting. You are surely the only place in the world where you’ll find a mint Lamborghini Countach in one corner.
And then a line of 50 series Toyota Crowns sitting in another. Even better is the fact that all three of these Crowns are of the rare pickup body style.
Also following the proven ‘simple is best’ route is this tidy little 110 Sunny four-door. The car is almost completely stock in appearance, save for a dropped ride height and a set of custom-widened steel wheels. Love it!
Also popping up at Fuji Speedway was the mega-slammed Porsche 914 that we spotted at a couple different events last year. Obviously the owner isn’t afraid of a little rain.
How’s this for another example of Japanese creativity? It’s the ‘Brumos Datsun’ 210 Sunny. Porsche purists, you can accept my apologies in advance.
I’m guessing the collectables sellers were quite happy that the event organizers placed them inside of Fuji Speedway’s pit garages on Sunday. Not only could they stay dry, but they were also drew plenty of showgoers who were looking for a place to escape the rain.
These 240ZG race car and Speed Racer Mach 5 model kits were just a few of the cool items I spotted during my brief look through this year’s selection of goodies. I knew I should have brought a few extra suitcases with me!
I could easily dedicate several more posts to the 2014 JCCA New Year Meeting, but my time in Japan has consisted of non-stop action and there’s plenty more Speedhunting adventures that need to be shared.
Rain or shine, Tokyo or Fuji – the New Year Meeting will always hold a special place in my heart. Until next year then!
PS: I’d also like to sincerely thank Speedhunters reader Mr. Yuya Kasai for giving me an umbrella to use when he noticed I had left mine back home in the USA. Kasaiさん、傘ありがとう！
The BMW 507 Roadster is a car that was built by BMW between 1956 and 1959, despite its beauty the 507 almost bankrupted the company and by the time production ceased, only 252 had been made.
Despite its Germanness, the 507 was actually the idea of an Austrian-born American man by the name of Max Hoffman. Hoffman was the largest importer of european cars into the United States and frequently made recommendations to marques like Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Alfa Romeo and a number of others. He’s credited with conceiving a number of cars including the Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing, the Alfa Romeo Giulietta Spider and the now iconic Porsche 356 Speedster.
Hoffman spent significant time talking to the heads of BMW about cars that were missing from their vehicle line-up in the mid to late 1950s, his idea for the BMW 507 Roadster was to create a sports convertible based on the BMW 501 and BMW 502 saloons. It would be priced at a point between the expensive 300SL and the comparatively cheap Porsche Speedsters, Austin Healeys and MGs.
Powered by an aluminium alloy, BMW OHV V8 with a capacity of 3168cc the 507 produced 150hp at the rear wheels and was fitted with a close ratio 4-speed manual transmission. The 507 could make the 0-62 dash in 11.1 seconds and had a top speed of 122mph – both very reasonable numbers for a sports car of the late-50s.
The stunning design of the car was created by Albrecht von Goertz (chosen at Hoffman’s insistence) and all of the body panels are hand-beaten aluminium. It’s interesting to note that no two 507s are identical and as a result each of their soft-tops had to be made specifically for the car it would be attached to. The roof from one car wouldn’t fit the one next to it, a complication that contributed to the spiralling costs of the project.
Despite (or perhaps because of) the BMW 507s high sticker price when it was released, it won over a number of celebrity owners. Elvis Presley had one that he eventually gave to Ursula Andress. John Surtees had one and even Bernie Ecclestone owned one for a time before selling it at auction for $904,000 in 2007.
The value of the remaining 202 507s is increasing its meteoric rise, the value of the car shown here is estimated to be between $1 million and $1.4 million, but we won’t know for sure till it rolls across the auction block in New York with RM Auctions on the 21st of November 2013.
