When On Any Sunday premiered in 1971, it wasn't just any movie. Directed by Bruce Brown -- who also helmed surfing classic The Endless Summer -- this insider look at motorcycle racing reached a wide audience and has left it's mark for generations, earning cult status. Get ready for the next chapter...
mercredi 14 mai 2014
Rallye Açores: the ERC’s ‘Ocean Drive’ / Ocean Drive aux Açores
After the all-asphalt visit to Ireland, the 2014 FIA European Rally Championship switches back to dirt for this weekend’s SATA Rallye Açores. The absence of Esapekka Lappi will give the championship leader’s rivals a chance to bridge the gap.
Although he took part in recce for the 2014 SATA Rallye Açores, the Skoda Motorsport driver is not taking part in the ERC’s fifth round, so he will watching with interest to see how his main opponents perform this weekend.
The Peugeot Rally Academy has entered Michelin-equipped 208 T16s for Irishman Craig Breen and Dutchman Kevin Abbring whose radiator problems in Greece and Ireland seem to have been cured.
The other chief title challengers, namely Russia’s Vasily Gryazin (Ford Fiesta S2000) and Pole Kajetan Kajetanowicz (Ford Fiesta R5/Michelin), are newcomers to Sao Miguel’s narrow, twisty stages, but local star Ricardo Moura (Ford Fiesta R5/Michelin) and Portugal’s Bernardo Sousa (Ford Fiesta RRC) both have solid knowledge of the roads which crisscross the biggest of the archipelago’s nine islands.
The event’s stages count among the finest in the world, including the famous Sete Cidades test (23.90km) which follows the rim of a former volcanic crater, now a lake. The tracks are very narrow and often muddy because of the frequent showers that blow in from the Atlantic Ocean. Indeed, the weather can be very changeable, with fog an additional hazard at higher altitudes.
“The weather has effectively been unstable,” says the Michelin technical advisor on the rally. “There’s an interesting mixture of mud and practically dry portions.” Michelin’s principal partners will be able to choose from the TZ 80 (soft compound) and the TZ 85 (medium).
The menu features 17 stages and begins with Thursday’s Qualifying Stage at 11am. The rally proper then kicks off at Ponte Delgada at 3:30pm and finishes late Saturday afternoon.
Après l’asphalte irlandais, les concurrents du Championnat d’Europe des Rallyes FIA se retrouvent ce week-end sur les pistes en terre du SATA Rallye Açores. Le leader du championnat, Esapekka Lappi, étant absent, les prétendants à la couronne 2014 ont donc une belle carte à jouer.
Même s’il a participé aux reconnaissances du 49e SATA Rallye Açores, le pilote officiel Skoda Motorsport n’est pas au départ de la 5e manche du championnat ce week-end. Esapekka Lappi va donc observer avec intérêt les prestations de ses challengers au championnat.
La Peugeot Rally Academy engage deux Peugeot 208 T16/Michelin pour l’Irlandais Craig Breen et le Néerlandais Kevin Abbring. Les problèmes de radiateur rencontrés en Grèce et en Irlande devraient être résolus.
Autres prétendants au titre européen, le Russe Vasily Gryazin (Ford Fiesta S2000) et le Polonais Kajetan Kajetanowicz (Ford Fiesta R5/Michelin) vont découvrir les pistes étroites et sinueuses de l’île Sao Miguel, la plus vaste des neuf qui composent l’archipel. Des pistes que l’Açoréen Ricardo Moura (Ford Fiesta R5/Michelin) et le Portugais Bernardo Sousa (Ford Fiesta RRC) connaissent par cœur.
Les spéciales du SATA Rallye Açores sont parmi les plus belles du championnat, comme la célèbre Sete Cidades (23,90 km) qui longe le cratère d’un ancien volcan transformé en lac. Les pistes sont très étroites et souvent rendues boueuses par les fréquentes ondées qui traversent l’archipel océanique. La météo y est très capricieuse et le brouillard peut être très épais sur les hauteurs.
« Les conditions sont vraiment très instables », témoigne le technicien Michelin présent sur place. « Certaines parties de spéciales sont boueuses, d’autres sont quasiment sèches. » Michelin propose à ses principaux partenaires deux types de pneus : le TZ 80 (soft) et le TZ 85 (medium).
17 spéciales sont au programme de cette 49e édition dont la Qualifying Stage se déroulera demain à partir de 11h00, avant le départ donné de Ponte Delgada à 15h30. Arrivée samedi 17 mai en fin d’après-midi.
Wednesday’s WRC notes: Argentina / Les brèves du mercredi…
Argentina’s post-event stories include tales of mechanicals and drivers ‘in the wars’, Rally2 runners in fourth and fifth places thanks an error in the regulations, and a former Argentina winner in New Zealand…
Robert Kubica found Rally Argentina extremely tough physically: “It was harder than Greece last year. And the Ford’s steering is firmer than that of the Citroën. I was forced to take the hairpins with just one hand.”
Meanwhile, Mads Ostberg hurt his right wrist when he went off on Friday. The next day, he bent his thumb following steering wheel kick-back on SS9. His co-driver Jonas Andersson had to drive the road section back to Villa Carlos Paz. Mads eventually threw in the towel after Sunday’s first two stages.
It was Ostberg’s 70th WRC start, which takes him past the score of Jorge Recalde, the only driver to have won a WRC round (Argentina 1988) and who lived in Mina Clavero.
The mechanicals also suffered on what was one of the roughest WRC rounds of recent years. Martin Prokop completed the last four stages with a broken anti-roll bar, Thierry Neuville did the Power Stage in two-wheel drive mode, Mikkelsen’s VW was halted by alternator failure and the front suspension of Ogier’s Polo wasn’t in the best of health, either.
The result of the national rally has yet to be finalised. Although Miguel Baldoni (Peugeot 208 MR) finished first ahead of Raul Martinez (Ford Fiesta) and Marcos Ligato (Chevrolet Agile), he might be excluded. Tennis player David Nalbandian was 16th overall.
Citroën Racing was competing in both Argentina and Slovakia (round four of the WTCC) where Sébastien Loeb won Race 1 in the rain, while Meeke and Ostberg’s DS3 WRCs were heading for Mina Clavero in thick fog…
In Argentina, 14 crews from 39 benefited from the Rally2 ruling, compared with just four in Sweden, 12 from 26 in Mexico and 25 from 84 in Portugal. In Argentina, a five-minute penalty was applied for those who retired on the final stage of each day (instead of 10 minutes usually). That enabled Mikkelsen and Neuville to fight back to fourth and fifth places at the end of the event, despite having to call on the Rally2 ruling. This change was due to an error in the regulations. The rule-makers wanted to penalise crews five minutes for missing a ‘super-special’ at the end of the day but wrote ‘stage’ instead…
The event served as good recce for Nasser Al-Attiyah since he believes that the second stage of next January’s Dakar will use some of the tracks visited in the Santa Rosa de Calamuchita region last weekend… After his two wins in the WRC-2 this year, plus three in the MERC, he has had a very successful year so far.
Au menu des brèves d’Argentine : des mécaniques blessées, des hommes meurtris, des pilotes en Rally2 au pied du podium grâce à une erreur de règlement, un ancien vainqueur en Nouvelle-Zélande…
Robert Kubica a trouvé le Rallye d’Argentine très difficile physiquement : « Plus que la Grèce l’an passé. Et puis la direction de la Ford est plus dure que celle de la Citroën. J’étais obligé de prendre les épingles d’une seule main. »
Vendredi, lors de sa touchette, Mads Ostberg s’était blessé au poignet droit. Le lendemain, il s’est tordu le pouce droit lors d’un violent retour de volant dans l’ES9. Son copilote Jonas Andersson a conduit sur le routier pour rentrer à Villa Carlos Paz. Mads a jeté l’éponge après deux spéciales parcourues dimanche.
Mads Ostberg participait à son 70e rallye WRC ce week-end, dépassant ainsi le nombre d’épreuves mondiales disputées par Jorge Recalde, seul pilote argentin vainqueur en WRC (Argentine 1988), qui habitait à Mina Clavero.
Les mécaniques ont également souffert sur l’un des rallyes WRC les plus cassants de ces dernières années : Martin Prokop a parcouru les quatre dernières ES avec une barre anti-roulis cassée. Thierry Neuville a disputé la Power Stage en deux roues motrices. Panne d’alternateur sur la VW de Mikkelsen à l’arrivée au parc et même celle d’Ogier montrait des signes de faiblesse (train avant).
Les résultats du rallye national ne sont pas définitifs. Miguel Baldoni (Peugeot 208 MR) s’est imposé devant Raul Martinez (Ford Fiesta) et Marcos Ligato (Chevrolet Agile), mais il pourrait être exclu par les commissaires… David Nalbandian a fini 16e.
Ce week-end, Citroën Racing était en même temps en Argentine et en Slovaquie pour la 4emanche du championnat WTCC. Sous la pluie, Sébastien Loeb a remporté la 1ère course, pendant que les Citroën DS3 WRC de Meeke et Ostberg étaient en route pour Mina Clavero, dans un épais brouillard…
En Argentine, 14 équipages sur 39 ont eu recours au Rally2, contre seulement 4 en Suède, 12 au Mexique sur 26 partants et 25 sur 84 au Portugal. En Argentine, une pénalité de 5 minutes a été appliquée pour les retraits dans l’ultime spéciale de l’étape (contre 10 normalement), ce qui a permis à Mikkelsen et Neuville de remonter au 4e et 5e places finales malgré leur Rally2. Ce changement est dû à une erreur dans le règlement : le législateur voulait instaurer une pénalité de 5 minutes par Superspéciale manquée en fin d’étape, mais il a écrit « par spéciale », donc…
Nasser Al-Attiyah était en reconnaissances ce week-end. D’après lui, la spéciale n°2 du prochain Dakar passerait par les pistes empruntées ce week-end vers Santa Rosa de Calamuchita… Deux victoires en WRC-2, trois en MERC : tout va bien pour Nasser cette saison….
Ce week-end, le vainqueur du Rallye d’Argentine 1994 était en Nouvelle-Zélande. Didier Auriol participait au Rally Otago Classic sur une Ford Escort RS 1800 avec Denis Giraudet. Hayden Paddon (Ford Escort 1600) était leader avant de sortir de la route.
Are you ready for the 2014 Mille Miglia?
On 15 May, the modern interpretation of the legendary Mille Miglia race will commence in Viale Venezia, Brescia. This year, no fewer than 451 historic cars will attempt to complete the jaunt from Brescia to Rome and back…
Mercedes-Benz celebrates 120 years of motorsport
Alongside the private entries to this year’s Mille Miglia will be a host of manufacturer cars, the most prominent of which are those of Mercedes-Benz, which this year celebrates its 120th year in motorsport. The roll call from Stuttgart this year includes Rudolf Caracciola's and Wilhelm Sebastian’s SSK. Accompanying this 1931 race-winning car will be the famous Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR in which Sir Stirling Moss and Denis Jenkinson won the 1955 race.
The British contingent, and beyond
Jaguar is also keen to promote its competition legacy, and will bring an impressive 10 cars to the event – comprising six XK120s, three C-types and a D-type. The all-star driving roster for these machines includes such names as Martin Brundle, Bruno Senna, Jeremy Irons and Jay Leno, among others. Meanwhile, Bentley has promised a pair of 4½-litre supercharged ‘Blowers’ will assemble on the starting grid, alongside cars provided by Alfa Romeo, Aston Martin and Bugatti, and some more modern offerings from Ferrari, Maserati and Porsche. The sensational spectrum can be found in theprovisional entry list.
The 2014 Mille Miglia will take place between 15 and 18 May. Further information can be found atwww.1000miglia.it.
Those who missed out on entry to the 2014 event can surely find a suitable car for 2015 in theClassic Driver Market.
Golden Goliath: Suzuki T500 II Titan café racer
Here at Classic Driver, we’re partial to a well-executed café racer – particularly those built independently. Oslo-based photographer Nicki Twang sent in these pictures of his most recent subject, this golden 1969 Suzuki. We felt it our duty to share its beauty…
The fabulous creation – based on a 1969 Suzuki T500 II Titan – was painstakingly built by Norwegian Bård Hansen. With a variety of modifications (which include Ceriani shocks, Mikuni carbs and rare Akront rims), the end product is barely reconisable as a Titan, bar the retention of the Colorado Gold factory paintwork. But, as always, no matter how accomplished the final project is, its true beauty can only be done justice by finding a contrasting backdrop. That’s whymotorcycle photographer Nicki Twang shot it in the ‘Barcode Project’, an almost-completed dockside development in Oslo which places emphasis on cutting-edge architecture.
Photos: Nicki Twang
You can find plenty more classic motorcycles and café racers for sale in the Classic Driver Market.
Grace of Monaco: Can Kidman play Kelly?
The story of Hollywood actress-turned-princess Grace Kelly was already film-worthy by the mid-50s. At next week’s Cannes Film Festival, the tale will finally make it onto the big screen as 'Grace of Monaco', with Nicole Kidman in the starring role. But the Monegasque royal family is none too happy…
She was one of the most talented actresses of the post-War period, starring opposite the likes of Gary Cooper and Clark Gable, and even winning an Oscar. Her fairytale came true in 1956 when, at the tender age of 26, she turned her back on Hollywood to marry Prince Rainier III of Monaco. Now, at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival, the story that made women across the globe envy her will be retold in ‘Grace of Monaco’, with Nicole Kidman fulfilling the starring role.
Graceful glamour
Not everyone is anticipating its release with pleasure, however. The Monegasque royal family has called it a “farce… based on erroneous and dubious historical references”. Meanwhile, the film’s US distributor Harvey Weinstein is in deadlock with its French creators over the tone and feel of the film. Does the magic of the silver screen give film-makers the necessary artistic licence? We'll be able to judge for ourselves when it’s released in cinemas – hopefully soon after its Cannes premiere.
Photo: Vanity Fair
La moto russe qui fait le buzz
Elle rentre dans le coffre d’une voiture, flotte, passe vraiment partout, se porte d’une main… Vous avez peut-être déjà vu cette vidéo de la Tarus 2 circuler sur les réseaux sociaux.
Son créateur est russe et est à la recherche d’investisseurs pour financer la production en petite série de ses prototypes, qu’il estime adaptés aux besoins des pêcheurs, chasseurs, sauveteurs de son vaste pays. Son objectif est de vulgariser la pratique du tout-terrain et pour cela un engin deux roues motrices lui est apparu comme indispensable. Quatre engins sont en préparation, avec différentes motorisations, différentes transmissions, roues etc., pour un poids compris entre 48 et 78 kg !
Si vous êtes intéressés (et parlez le russe!) vous pouvez le contacter par mail sur mtv-tarus@mail.ru
Son site : www.mtv-t.ru
Son site : www.mtv-t.ru
Il semble que cet inventeur mette à disposition les plans de sa machine pour ceux qui veulent tenter la construction contre 1300 roubles (26 euros).
Quelques vidéos
Toutes les vidéos sur sa chaîne
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCm9BYMZ2K2_tyXD5TcBfTEQ
JERIKAN MC R90 MONO
JeriKan Motorcycles is another custom builder who has thier own take on the BMW Boxer custom. Based down in Nice in the South of France Jérémy & Mark got going after meeting John & Nico from 4h10 in Paris, and the rest is custom-building history.
“This bike started the day when one of my clients wanted to sold his BMW R80RT 87. Personally, I am not a follower of monolevers but certain occasions can not be missed , so I bought this machine without really knowing what to do. Unlike the BMs I’ve made before, it was impossible to conceive of a cosmetic monolever approaching what I used to do. So I used this base to try to do something different than anything I had done so far.”
Jérémy felt that the monoshock setup leaned the bike towards a cafe racer design, but with the emphasis more on ‘cafe’ than ‘racer’ and to offset the modern rear-end he wanted to add a vintage feel to the bodywork and paint. “I opted for keeping some parts “neo” (modern) changing the entire rear frame loop, using flexible LEDs for the taillight that perfectly follow the shape of the loop and rear turn signals that are integrated into the fairing near the rear shock in little cone. A design that was also adapted into the bar end.”
Fitting the Martin bikini fairing with twin headlights was such a pain that Jérémy almost abandoned the idea, but he persevered with a lot of modification and clever bracketry, which was well worthwhile as this feature really defines the bike and helps it stand out from a pretty large crowd.
“I also opted for the “retro” by choosing a simple cream with gray lines paint in matt finish, saddle in genuine leather recalling the tank, aluminium signal switches of an old Honda CB, full polishing all aluminum parts of the machine which some have the patina of time, deliberately leaving the foot holds original rather than rearsets and customizing the speedometer with my logo and the number of the machine’ #9.”
Jérémy also wanted to avoid black in any elements of the bike, which meant lots of extra work. “…the frame has been repainted, the cables were all covered with braided stainless steel sheath, the damper has been polished and the spring has been painted, the speedo as well as the battery and the original air box (hideous!). I wanted to embellish the flux in the color of the engine so that the machine keeps its origins performance. Other parts were covered with aluminum tape and we even repainted the spark plug covers, and gas taps.”
“Chrome mufflers were polished to a matte finish, the cylinder heads were removed, the manifold lengthened then covered with a triple layer of cream coloured thermal tape to match the bodywork and to keep a maximum visual coherence.” The small fender is a reworked item from a Honda Goldwing.
Unusually Jérémy got rid of the side stand (keeping the centrestand) on the basis that starting up a Beemer that’s been leaned over for a while gives off a big black puff of smoke (true) which he found annoying. Fair enough.
So how do they feel the bike turned out? “The result is ultimately what I expected with a vintage rather typical machine a little sporty but vintage. A quality finish and a few innovations that I like to bring such as the sheath or blind fairing bolts for example while remaining in sobriety.”
On a website full of custom Boxers (with many more to come) it’s great to see how far they can be stretched into different looks and vibes. The monoshock seems to work really well without ruining any retro vibe, and with Jerikan’s attention to detail in the finish this bike is completely ageless as well as dripping with class. See more from Jérémy & Mark on Facebook or here on the Bike Shed.
The pictures are made by Pierre Turtaut
Our last-minute highlights from the Monaco auctions
As well as being one of the most stylish places on earth, Monaco is also something of an automotive mecca for enthusiasts – so where better to hold a high-end car auction? This weekend, Coys and RM will do just that, and we've selected our last-minute favourites from each sale...
Coys 'Legende et Passion', 9 May 2014
The Coys ‘Legende et Passion’ auction, taking place on Friday 9 May, offers a varied delicatessen of treats – from an Abarth recovery truck to a Monaco-built supercar. But our collective eye was caught by the 1950 Cisitalia Abarth 204 A Spider, which not only has Targa Florio and Mille Miglia provenance but can, we're told, also claim to be the last car driven in anger by Tazio Nuvolari before his retirement.
Elsewhere, the auction sees some familiar mid-90s supercars in some less-than-common guises: a1994 Lamborghini Diablo SE 30th Anniversario, and a 1995 Porsche 911 (993) Turbo resplendent in ‘Indian Red’, a cousin of the iconic Guards Red colour.
RM Auctions, 10 May 2014
Among the slew of Italian machinery headlining RM’s 10 May auction is a 1967 Ferrari Dino 206 S Spider, being offered publicly for the first time. It’s one of only 18 of the high-revving, V6-engined sports cars – built primarily for gentleman drivers – and is thought to be the only one given a larger engine, 312 P-style bodywork and a 312 F1 gearbox by the factory at a later date. For those who prefer their racing machines a little younger (and a lot faster), there’s also a pair of Group C racersto choose from.
In terms of road machines, the 1955 Lancia Aurelia B24S Spider America by Pinin Farina is not only the rarest, but also the prettiest roofless derivative of the Aurelia – just look at that wraparound windscreen, or the shallow doors uninterrupted by the presence of exterior handles. Meanwhile, our award for the most striking paintwork is only snatched from the Lime Green De Tomaso Mangusta by the Bugatti EB110 GT, which wears a sombre dark green that masks its ballistic character.
Our six favourites from the Coys and RM Monaco auctions
The most spectacular Monaco Grand Prix moments
Ask any racing driver to name the world’s top motor race, and they will probably pick one of three: the Le Mans 24 Hours, the Indy 500 – or the Monaco Grand Prix. Here, we aimed to pick our top five Monaco moments; only we couldn’t agree on which five, so we sneaked in a sixth…
In some ways it’s odd that the Monaco Grand Prix is the most prestigious on the F1 calendar, when the road circuit’s narrow track and overtaking difficulties don’t always make for great racing. But there’s no doubt about it – this is the one that the drivers most want to win. We start with the most recent of our five (well, six) top moments: Ayrton Senna’s qualifying lap in 1988.
Senna, 1988: A different dimension
Between 1987 and 1993, Senna won six of the seven Monaco Grands Prix, but it’s the one that he didn’t win which sticks most in our minds. More to the point, his pole-setting lap in qualifying for the 1988 race, a lap in which he went 1.427 seconds faster than anyone else. “I was kind of driving by instinct,” he said of what is arguably the greatest lap in the history of the sport. “I was in a different dimension… well beyond my conscious understanding.”
In the race itself, Senna was so far in the lead that he was told to slow down… and that’s where it all went wrong. With the instinctive fluidity of his spectacular drive destroyed, he hit the barrier. The victory went to Alain Prost: the last person Senna would have wanted to see win.
Patrese, 1982: Pure farce
The last three laps of the 1982 race were almost farcical. The absurdity began when the comfortably leading Renault of Alain Prost slammed into the barrier, leaving Patrese in the lead. Until he spun, on the penultimate lap, and came to a stop across the track with a dead engine. Leaving Pironi’s Ferrari in the lead… until Pironi ran out of the fuel in the tunnel. Meanwhile, de Cesaris’s Alfa also ran out of fuel, and Daly’s Williams hit the barrier, removing his rear wing and half his gearbox. He too ground to a halt.
But wait…! Patrese is moving again! He manages to get across the finish line to take his first GP victory, with a (stationary) Pironi in second place and a (stationary) de Cesaris in third. You can watch the video of the final laps here.
Jochen Rindt, 1970: Brabham’s last-minute loss
The last lap of the 1970 race saw Rindt right up on the tail of Jack Brabham, having doggedly closed the nine-second gap he’d inherited some three-quarters of the way through the race. In the very last corner, under enormous pressure from the German-Austrian driver, Brabham lost it and slid into the barrier – leaving Rindt with victory. There’s a video for this one, too.
Graham Hill, 1969: Mr Monaco
This was the fifth Monaco win for the British driver who became known as ‘Mr Monaco’, thanks to his domination of the race in the 1960s.
Incidentally, when he died in a plane crash in 1975, Hill was the only driver ever to have won all three of the world’s top races: Monaco, Le Mans and the Indianapolis 500… and he still is.
Ascari, 1955: Swimming lesson
In the closing laps of the 1955 race, Stirling Moss was leading when his Mercedes’ engine blew, gifting the lead to Alberto Ascari; but the Italian crashed at the chicane, went straight through the straw bales and ended up in the harbour. Click here to see the footage.
Ascari swam to safety, suffering nothing worse than a broken nose, but was less lucky just four days later, on 26 May, when he died in a casual test-drive of a Ferrari at Monza.
William Grover-Williams, 1929: Secret agent
We haven’t included British driver Grover-Williams just because he won the first ever Monaco Grand Prix (in his Bugatti), although that is a good enough reason in itself. No, what made us unable to leave him out was his life off the circuit. He was a special agent who worked under cover in Paris during WW2, before being captured and killed by the Nazis. A hero in more ways than one.
Fancy becoming a Monaco superstar yourself? We've selected a stunning range of ex-Monaco racing cars for sale elsewhere in the Classic Driver Magazine.
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