Rally dos Sertões: Varela, Baumgart and Spinelli fastest cars in the prologue./ Goncalves, Azevedo and Coma fastest in bikes Saturday

In his 16th participation in the Brazilian "Rally dos Sertões", the World Rally Cross Country champion Reinaldo Varela showed a strong pace this Saturday during the prologue in Goiânia.

With his co-driver Gustavo Gugelmin, he did the fastest time in the 10 km dispute, which set the starting order for the 1st stage of the 22nd edition of the Rally, which leaves Goiânia on Sunday (24) towards Caldas Novas.

Aboard a prototype of 340 HP, Varela and Gugelmin (Overdrive Toyota Hilux) recorded the time of 00:05:59 minutes. Cristian Baumgart and Kleber Cincea (NWM Ford Ranger) also did a good start and ended the prologue with a time of 00:06:12 mins. The four-time Rally dos Sertões champion, Guilherme Spinelli and Youssef Haddad (Mitsubishi ASX Petrobras) were the third duo (00:06:13).

Forty-five cars participated in the prologue. Besides the four entered duos in the FIA T1 category, there are 10 competitors in the T1 Prototypes, nine in the Pro Brazil, seven in the Super Production, four in the Production, four in the T2 category and 11 in the T2 Production / TR4.

In the trucks, six-time Rally dos Sertões champion, Edu Piano and the co-drivers Solon Mendes and Antonio Carlos de Sales (Ford Racing Truck) were the fastest on the trucks, with the time of 00:07:44 minutes. The trio Felicio Tadeu Bragante / Ricardo de Paula Costa / Paco Corder (Ford F4000) was the first runner-up (00:08:20), followed by duo Kenner Garcia / Rafael Dal Bello (Ford F4000), with the time 00:08:37.

This Sunday (24th), the competitors depart towards Caldas Novas in the dispute of the 1st stage of the Rally dos Sertões 2014. It will be 216.21 km in total on the first day (40.50 km of initial liaison, 155.65 km of special and 20.06 km of final liaison).

Between Goiânia and Belo Horizonte, Sertões will go through five more cities. Three will host the rally for the first time: Catalão, Paracatu and São Francisco. Caldas Novas and Diamantina complete the route.

Besides cars and trucks, the Sertões also has disputes in the categories of bikes, quads and UTVs. There are seven stages, more than 2600 km (1572 km of special). The dispute has 197 competitors in total from seven countries: Brazil, Chile, Spain, France, Poland, Portugal and the UK. In bikes and quads category, the Sertões will also be valid for the FIM World Cross Country Rally. 

The prologue of the "Rally dos Sertões" was held this Saturday (23rd) in Goiania (Goiás State) and set the starting order for the 1st stage of the Rally dos Sertões, which starts on Sunday (24th) its 22th edition, towards Belo Horizonte (Minas Gerais State).

Defending the title on bikes, the Portuguese Paulo Gonçalves (Honda HRC Team) was the fastest on the 10 km track in a straight line, with a time of 00:06:01 minutes. The Brazilian Jean Azevedo (Honda Mobil Rally) also showed that he is among the favorites to fight for his sixth title in the Sertões and finished as the first runner-up (00:06:08s). The Spaniard Marc Coma (KTM Red Bull Factory Team), who is leading the FIM World Cross Country Rally, was third (00:06:20).

Thirty-seven bikes competed in the prologue. "It was a short special. I got a really nice time. The grid is very strong and I need to go well to recover in the FIM World Cross Country Rally", said the Portuguese, who does not consider bad being the first to start tomorrow towards Caldas Novas (GO), which will be the final destination of the 1st stage.

"It will not be so bad, because of the dust, but we will still discuss with the team the best position", said. The first 10 riders in the prologue can choose the starting position in the initial stage.

In the fight between the quads, the Brazilian Marcelo Medeiros (Taguatur Racing), winner of the Rally dos Sertões in 2012, was the best in the prologue, beating the current champion Robert Nahas (second) and the Polish Rafal Sonik (third). Seventeen quads were in the prologue.

With 21 UTVs in the dispute, the category also had a good fight during the prologue. José Hélio and Edmilson de Camargo Jr. (Polaris Racing) were the fastest (6min41s). The second and third were the duo Rodrigo Varela / John Henry Arena (Divino Fogão Rally Team) and Gustavo Xavier / Breno Rezende, respectively. 

Rally dos Sertões: Team HRC back in action for the thrills of the Dos Sertoes.

Last year, the Brazilian DOS SERTOES RALLYturned out to be one of the most decisive in the 2013 championship. It was a cool-headed Paulo Goncalves, who handled the difficult course, and made the most of opportunities, leading to a crucial victory as he closed the gap on overall leader Marc Coma. Later in the Morocco Rally, the Portuguese rider aboard the new Honda CRF450 Rally, sealed his place as the new FIM World Cross-Country Rallies champion.

The Team HRC rider Paulo Goncalves will thus be sporting the number one on the Honda CRF450 Rally in a race that will bring back some thrilling memories for the Portuguese rider, for it was there that ‘Speedy’ rode to his first championship win, after a hard-fought rally and a display of strength and reliability.

Paulo Goncalves and Hélder Rodrigues are set to be the Team HRC starters for this edition of the Sertoes 2014, as the victorious Honda CRF450 Rally–winner in the "Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge" and "Sealine Rally Qatar", returns to action.

This comes after the team was unable to use the machine in the Italian race due to its particular characteristics. Goncalves arrives in Goiania in third place in the overall standings of the FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship, just seven points behind overall leader Marc Coma.

"The Rally dos Sertoes was, for the team and I, a decisive race in last year’s world championship, and I hope we can get another positive result and fulfil our aims once again this year," Paulo Goncalves said.

"I will be looking to cut down the gap in the World Championship. It’s a race that I’m really attracted to, as it is a beautiful course; although it’s a shorter one this time around, so we’ll have to really work at it. The team is doing a fine job and the bike is super-competitive, so we’ve just got to get out there and fight for the victory."

Hélder Rodrigues lies in fifth overall position. As had been previously planned at the beginning of the season, Joan Barreda continues his program of preparation in Spain ahead of the next Dakar.

"I’ve been training really hard out in Tunisia since the beginning of August, where I was able to do a lot of mileage, which will be very important for this stage and for the races that await us in the coming months," reported Rodrigues. "The Rally dos Sertoes is a long, hard and technical race, and it will be important to ride well, as it is very similar to the first part of the Dakar. I believe that we have distinct possibilities and that we will be in the running for the victory."

Team HRC General Manager Martino Bianchi added: "In the Rally dos Sertoes, Team HRC returns to the competition with the Honda CRF450 RALLY with which we won the first two rallies of the World Cross-Country Rallies Championship in 2014. It’s a very important race to be able to put the bike’s development to the test, as well as for our rider’s preparation for the Morocco Rally in October, and the next Dakar 2015."

"Paulo Gonçalves will be defending the number one on his bib, in the Sertoes Rally, that proved to be such an important step in winning the championship last time. Alongside him will be fellow-Portuguese team-mate Hélder Rodrigues. Meanwhile, Joan Barreda, who will not be taking part in the championship programme, will continue with his preparation in Spain, for the next Morocco Rally."

The race gets underway this Saturday 23rd August, with a 10 km prologue in the Goiania Autodrome Ayrton Senna. The first of seven stages will be disputed on Sunday. The Rally dos Sertoes comes to a close in Belo Horizonte on Saturday 30th after some 2,600 kilometres, of which 1,545 are against the clock.

"After an excellent start in the 2014 race season, with double victory at the first two rounds of the World Championship in Abu Dhabi and Qatar, and a competitive, but not so lucky race in Sardinia, Team HRC is set to realize another top result at round 4 in Brazil," said Team HRC Team Manager Wolfgang Fischer.

"This race is very special, as Paulo Goncalves celebrated in Brazil his first victory one year ago, and set the base for his later World Championship title. Rally Dos Sertoes is always a special challenge, very competitive and many kilometres in the Brazilian semi-desert. Even though it is 3 days shorter this year than usual, we expect a tough and demanding competition for our starters, Helder Rodrigues and Paulo Goncalves, and will try to defend last year’s victory and stay in competition for the world title." 

via http://www.marathonrally.com

Highlights (Crashes Latvala, Meeke, Ogier) - 2014 WRC Rallye Deutschland

REPARTO ESPERIENZE 01

As the Gentlemen’s Ride Out of 2014 looms ever closer and my thoughts drift back to those glorious, leisurely rides shod in sharp suits and brogues, I cannot help but day dream of what would be the perfect steed for the occasion.  It would need class, elegance, sophistication and yet arrive with a deep rumbling intent, it would be the machine you would choose to collect a 40′s Hollywood leading lady, to whisk her off her feet, side saddle, to dinner via the scenic route. It would be this Guzzi.  Italian made and Italian altered by Roberto Nesci of Reparto Esperienze, this 78′ SP 1000 just oozes the necessary suave. Trust the Italians.

“We create special Motorcycles, made with passion and handicraft pure, designed for your daily ride… because every day is special!” This glorious green Guzzi arrived in the Bike Shed inbox with one of those charmingly unintelligible stories, courtesy of the ever confusable Google translate, but the passion and spirit of the project became instantly clear. Roberto, from his base of operations, a stones throw from the historic temple of speed, the Autodromo Nazionale Monza Race Circuit, talks romantically of giving life to machines that would otherwise be abandoned in garages.

“We reinterpret to them in modern without to remove they it own history. We listen to the Client, its requirements and step after step we try to return a motorcycle only that its to reflect the tastes and its personality.” Clearly the client for this Guzzi is a gentleman or lady of impeccable taste. Roberto’s key target for the build was to “draw out the soul” of the motorcycle whilst respecting the spirit of the Moto Guzzi brand.

With the help of “fratelli” Carlo and Roberto, the team began to rebuild the stately Guzzi using as many old or original parts as they could lay there hands on, only turning to modern parts where the upgrade was too good to ignore. The tank and fairing are original Moto Guzzi parts, along with the Borrani wheels and Dell’Orto carburettors.

The Reparto Espeienze team reconditioned the forks, fitted new rear shocks, new brake discs and completely overhauled the engine, gearbox and clutch. The electrical system was simplified and an electronic ignition installed, the battery was hidden away and as much paraphernalia as possible removed from under the seat to lighten the central part of the bike. A Motogadget speedometer was amongst the bought in parts that were integrated into the build, whilst the exhaust and plush seat were fabricated by the company craftsmen.

There are so many gorgeous features on this bike; the curved clip ons, the rear sets and passenger pegs, the engine head protectors, the grips,  all beautifully considered and combined. The Pastel Green colour scheme was inspired by the remarkable dustbin faired Moto Guzzi V8 from 1955 which featured a similar seat colour and set up.

The next motorcycles the team are turning their attention to include a 1992 BMW R100R destined for scrambler treatment, a Cafe Racer based on a 81′ BMW R100RS, and a far younger Honda Vigor. No doubt they will impart in these machines the class and elegance of this timeless Guzzi. We certainly look forward to seeing them.

See more of what the gentlemen in Monza are getting up to at their website.

The Bike Shed

Blancpain Sprint Series / Slovakia Ring : Baumann/Jäger (BMW/Schubert) vainqueurs inattendus !

par Laurent Mercier

La course principale du meeting Blancpain Sprint Series disputée sur le Slovakia Ring a été un peu plus calme que la veille lors de la manche qualificative. Malgré tout, les 60 minutes n’ont pas été de tout repos avec une course qui s’est jouée dans les deux dernières minutes. Après 29 tours couverts, Dominik Baumann et Thomas Jäger ont imposé la BMW Z4 GT3 du BMW Sports Trophy Team Schubert, avec 1.5s d’avance sur une autre BMW, celle du BMW Sports Trophy Team Brasil partagée par Caca Bueno et Sergio Jimenez. La dernière marche du podium est revenue sur le fil à l’Audi R8 LMS ultra/Belgian Audi Club Team WRT de René Rast et Enzo Ide.

Il manquait deux GT3 au départ de cette manche dominicale avec le forfait de la Lamborghini Gallardo FL2/Reiter Engineering de Enge/Rosina de même que la Ferrari 458 Italia GT3/Villorba Corse de Montermini/Salaquarda.

Fort d’une très belle prestation sur le Slovakia Ring deux semaines plus tôt en ADAC GT Masters où Baumann/Hürtgen s’étaient imposés en course 1, le Team Schubert a une nouvelle fois fait parler la poudre en terre slovaque, surtout que Baumann/Jäger se sont élancés de la 18ème place après un abandon la veille, mais Thomas Jäger a su profiter du chaos du départ pour pointer dans le top 6 avant la fin du premier tour.

On a frôlé la neutralisation à plusieurs reprises durant l’heure de course mais la voiture de sécurité est restée sagement à sa place. Le premier virage a été le théâtre d’un strike entre quatre GT3, à savoir l’Audi/WRT de Hamprecht, la Lamborghini/GRT de Proczyk, la BMW/Brasil de Stumpf et l’Audi/WRT de Ide. Seule cette dernière a pu poursuivre sa route malgré une portière gauche salement amochée. Parti de la pole, Cesar Ramos (Audi/WRT) n’a pu conserver le leadership au feu vert si bien que le Brésilien a tenté de retarder son freinage au maximum, mais le pilote de l’Audi victorieuse la veille n’a pu éviter de faire le ménage dans le peloton. Quelques instants plus tard, c’est Niki Mayr-Melnhof qui sortait de la piste sur l’Audi/Phoenix.

Le départ profitait donc à Nico Verdonck (Mercedes/HTP), impeccable durant son relais malgré une crevaison lente, Caca Bueno (BMW/Brasil), Miguel Toril (Mercedes/Fortec) et Lucas Wolf (Mercedes/HTP). Le ROAL Motorsport a vite perdu ses ambitions de bon résultat avec un abandon pour Zanardi dès le 1er tour et Fumanelli/Colombo qui partaient deux tours après tout le monde.

Max Götz relayait Nico Verdonck pour reprendre la piste aux commandes mais à 24 minutes du terme, l’Allemand sortait large, ce qui faisait les affaires de Sergio Jimenez. Cependant, le Brésilien n’avait pas course gagnée puisqu’à trois minutes du damier, le Champion d’Europe GT3 2012 prenait les commandes pour franchir la ligne d’arrivée en vainqueur. La dernière marche du podium s’est jouée dans le dernier tour où René Rast a su trouver l’ouverture sur Max Götz, seulement 4ème. Course sans pour Vanthoor/Ramos qui ont terminé aux portes du top ten. Après le strike du départ, c’est le Belge qui a connu quelques soucis en s’offrant un tour dans l’herbe avant de revenir à stand pour refroidir la mécanique.

Luca Stolz et Lucas Wolf ont remporté la Silver Cup sur l’une des trois Mercedes SLS AMG GT3/HTP Motorsport avec une 5ème place finale. En terminant 9ème et 2ème en Silver Cup, la paire Abril/Lisowski (Audi/WRT) revient de loin après une pénalité pour infraction lors du ravitaillement. Déjà vainqueurs hier en Pro-Am, Basseng/Latif (Audi/Phoenix) ont récidivé.

Max Götz prend seul les commandes du championnat avec 85 points. Absent ce week-end, Max Buhk est seul deuxième avec 69 points. Malchanceux en Slovaquie, Bleekemolen/Proczyk sont à 18 longueurs de la tête. Suivent Buno/Jimenez (51), Rast/Ide (51) et Baumann/Jäger (45) sachant que ces derniers n’ont disputé que deux meetings. Prochain round en Algarve du 5 au 7 septembre.

Le classement de la course est ici

Rallye Deutschland : Premières pour Neuville et Hyundai ! / maiden glory for Neuville and Hyundai!

La dernière journée de l’ADAC Rallye Deutschland 2014 fut elle aussi mouvementée avec les sorties de route de Latvala et Meeke, et s’est conclue sur un doublé inédit de Hyundai/Michelin en Championnat du monde des Rallyes FIA et sur la première victoire mondiale de Thierry Neuville et Nicolas Gilsoul.

Si Volkswagen avait prévu de fêter le titre Constructeurs ce soir, et bien il va falloir tout annuler ! Confortable leader ce matin, Jari-Matti Latvala a rejoint la longue liste des abandons – où figurait son équipier Ogier - en sortant de la route dans le vignoble mosellan.

Quel choc ce matin quand le Finlandais a disparu des écrans radar au km 8 de l’ES15. Puis dans la spéciale suivante, le nouveau leader du rallye, Kris Meeke (Citroën), est sorti à son tour sur des routes boueuses et très piégeuses. Le Britannique a néanmoins reconnu que c’est une mauvaise note qui l’avait envoyé au tapis, privant Citroën d’une 12^e victoire consécutive en Allemagne.

Neuville et Sordo furent alors propulsés en haut du classement général, et c’est là que nous avons pris conscience qu’un doublé inédit de Hyundai en WRC était possible ! Et aussi que Thierry Neuville était en passe de remporter son premier succès en WRC après être sorti de la route lors du Shakedown jeudi !

La pression était énorme sur les épaules du Belge pour les deux dernières ES, mais le pilote Hyundai de 26 ans, vice-champion du monde sortant, est dorénavant très mature. Il n’a pas craqué.

« Incroyable » fut le premier mot de Neuville quand il est descendu de sa i20 WRC/Michelin à l’arrivée de la Power Stage. « Le team a fait un boulot remarquable. Je veux juste remercier toute l’équipe. Je ne m’attendais pas à un tel résultat après mes tonneaux au Shakedown. » Le triomphe de l’équipe coréenne est complété par la 2^e place de Dani Sordo (+40s7), vainqueur du Rallye Deutschland l’an passé.

C’est toujours très émouvant quand un pilote, un copilote et/ou un constructeur gagnent leur première victoire mondiale. Thierry Neuville (né à moins de 100 km de Trèves), Nicolas Gilsoul et Michel Nandan, directeur de Hyundai Motorsport, ont reçu une véritable ovation en pénétrant dans la salle de presse pour la traditionnelle conférence d’après-course.

Andreas Mikkelsen (3^e, +58s) assure la présence d’une Volkswagen sur le podium final. Même si le constructeur allemand n’a pu décrocher le titre à domicile et voit sa belle série de 12 victoires consécutives s’arrêter, il est désormais certain que soit Sébastien Ogier, soit Jari-Matti Latvala coiffera la couronne Pilotes 2014.

La bataille fratricide entre les pilotes officiels M-Sport, Elfyn Evans et Mikko Hirvonen, a tourné à l’avantage du Gallois, qui a également remporté sa première spéciale WRC lors de la Power Stage.

Mads Ostberg (6^e) a marqué huit points pour Citroën-Total Abu Dhabi WRT, suffisant pour priver Volkswagen du titre, pour l’instant. Ni Robert Kubica (Ford, transmission), ni Bryan Bouffier (Hyundai, sortie) n’ont vu l’arrivée du Rallye Deutschland.

Le Suédois Pontus Tidemand (Ford/Michelin) a remporté en catégorie WRC-2 dans les derniers kilomètres. Stéphane Lefebvre (Citroën/Michelin) s’est imposé en WRC-3 et a remporté sa troisième victoire en J-WRC cette saison. Enfin, le Britannique Tom Cave a pris sa revanche sur Sander Pärn en Drive DMack Fiesta Trophy.

 

 

Last-day drama in Germany has handed an unexpected but popular one-two success to WRC newcomer Hyundai/Michelin. Belgium’s Thierry Neuville gave the Alzenau-based team what is in effect a ‘home’ victory for both of them after overnight leader Latvala (Volkswagen) and Meeke (Citroën) crashed on Sunday’s first loop. Second-place for Sordo added to the Korean make’s delight.

If Volkswagen had been planning to celebrate its second Manufacturers’ title this evening, it had to cancel its arrangements when Jari-Matti Latvala joined team-mate Sébastien Ogier on the retirements list following a crash in the region’s notoriously tricky vineyards this morning.

Given the Finn’s overnight cushion of more than a minute, his disappearance from the radar 8km into today’s first test came as a huge shock. But there was another surprise to come when Kris Meeke, who had inherited top spot, left the road on the very next stage! In these drivers’ defence, conditions first thing this morning were reported to be treacherously muddy and all the front-runners reported ‘moments’. That said, Meeke admitted his accident was due to an inaccurate pace note.

With Neuville and Sordo next in the provisional order, we suddenly found ourselves staring at the possibility of a Hyundai one-two, a scenario that few would have predicted prior to the start, especially after the Belgian’s car needed a complete rebuild following his shakedown crash on Thursday!

There was consequently huge pressure on Neuville’s shoulders for the remainder of the morning. But the 26-year old shrugged it off maturely to maintain control until the flag where he could finally pop the champagne in front of friends, fans and family.

It’s always an emotional moment when an upcoming driver or new manufacturer adds their name to the list of WRC winners, so it was no surprise when both Neuville (who was born less than 100km from Trier) and Hyundai boss Michel Nandan received an ovation as they walked into the post-event press conference.

“Unbelievable,” was the Belgian’s reaction as he stepped out of his i20 WRC at the end of the Power Stage. “The team did an unbelievable job on all three days. I can only say thank you to them. I didn’t expect a result like this after I rolled on shakedown!”

The team’s triumph was compounded by the second place secured thanks to an assertive yet sure-footed performance from last year’s Deutschland winner Dani Sordo (+40.7s).

Meanwhile, Andreas Mikkelsen (3^rd, +58.0s) ensured a presence on the podium for Volkswagen which, despite missing this opportunity to wrap up the 2014 Manufacturers’ title on home soil, is now certain that the Drivers’ crown will go to either Latvala or Ogier.

The fratricidal battle for fourth between Ford’s Elfyn Evans and Mikko Hirvonen ended in favour of the Welshman who was making his ‘clear’ asphalt debut in the Fiesta WRC.

Mads Ostberg was probably relieved when the event ended, but it was the eight points that went with Citroën driver’s sixth place that deprived VW of the title today.

Neither Robert Kubica (Ford, transmission) nor Bryan Bouffier (Hyundai, accident) reached the end of the last day.

Swede Pontus Tidemand (Ford/Michelin) snatched a dramatic WRC-2 victory on the final stage, Frenchman Stéphane Lefebvre (Citroën) won the WRC-3 class to collect his third Junior-WRC success of the year, and Briton Tom Cave was the Fiesta Trophy victor.

YAMAHA XT500 BY (H) GARAGE

The Yamaha XT500 is one of the more important motorcycles from the Yamaha back catalogue, it’s based on the same engine as the iconic SR500 – a single cylinder 499cc engine with one valve in, one valve out and a following that a numbers in the millions.

The XT500 was an instant success when it was introduced in 1975, the model’s Paris-Dakar wins in 1979 and 1980 in the hands of Frenchman Cyril Neveu further cemented the XT500′s place as an icon, and ensured that even 35 years later it’s still highly sought after.

The bike you see here is the work of (H) Garage, a new custom motorcycle garage based out of Louisville, Kentucky. The garage’s proprietor is a friendly guy by the name of Scott who was looking around for his 4th project motorcycle, after riding a stock Yamaha XT500 he decided that he’d like to hunt one down that needed a little TLC and set to work on it.

After a few weeks of trawling the classifieds, he found one a few hours away in a nearby state so he set off with the team from Modern Metals to pick it up. It was looking a little worse for wear so after a couple of rides for familiarisation Scott began the tear-down process, he removed all the plastic, electronics, fuel tank, seat, wheels and engine – then set about a carefully considered rebuild.

The stock fuel tank was discarded in favour of a Yamaha CT175 unit, the seat was customised to suit the modified backbone and sent off to New Church Moto for upholstery. Scott then called on the team at Bluegrass Muffler to create a new exhaust with a higher mount than the stock pipe to give the new XT500 an almost scrambler look.

Thew full build sheet and some other photos of this bike are available via (H) Garage here, I recommend taking a look at it and seeing Scott’s previous builds – he’s a talented guy and we’ll be keeping a very close eye on future customs that roll out of his garage.

via SILODROME