ERC : La rentrée à Zlin / action to resume in Zlin

Après une pause estivale d’un mois, le Championnat d’Europe des Rallyes FIA reprend en République Tchèque ce week-end où Craig Breen, Kevin Abbring, Ott Tanak, Esapekka Lappi, Kajetan Kajetanowicz défieront les meilleurs pilotes tchèques sur les routes rapides du Barum Rally Zlin.

Voilà dix ans que le Championnat d’Europe des Rallyes FIA séjourne à Zlin, en République Tchèque, à la fin du mois d’août. Le Barum Czech Rally Zlin est sans doute l’une des épreuves les plus rythmées de la saison avec des spéciales vallonnées entre prairies et forêts, techniques et rapides tracées sur des routes au revêtement parfois dégradé.

Quinze spéciales (237,33 km) sont au programme de cette 44^e édition qui s’élancera demain vendredi avec les essais et la Qualifying Stage (4,44 km) le matin, puis la traditionnelle Superspéciale nocturne dans les rues de Zlin (9,51 km). Ensuite, les pilotes disputeront les grandes classiques de cette épreuve : Trojak (22,82 km), Pindula (18,43 km) ou encore Kudlovice (21,41 km). L’arrivée sera jugée dimanche après-midi à Zlin.

Cette 44^e édition s’annonce très ouverte. Encore une fois, le Barum Czech Rally Zlin a attiré un plateau exceptionnel. A domicile, les pilotes tchèques sont de redoutables concurrents, comme Vaclav Pech (Mini S2000), Roman Kresta (Skoda Fabia S2000), Tomas Kostka (Ford Fiesta R5), Jaromir Tarabus (Skoda Fabia S2000) ou encore Pavel Valousek (Skoda Fabia S2000).

Ils donneront du fil à retordre aux habitués du championnat, eux aussi tous présents à Zlin : les pilotes officiels Skoda Motorsport Esapekka Lappi et Sepp Wiegand, les pilotes Peugeot Rally Academy Craig Breen et Kevin Abbring (Peugeot 208 T16), l’Estonien Ott Tanak (Ford Fiesta R5), le Polonais Kajetan Kajetanowicz (Ford Fiesta R5), le Portugais Bruno Magalhaes (Peugeot 208 T16) ou encore l’Irlandais Robert Barrable (Ford Fiesta R5) et le Britannique Mark Higgins qui fera débuter la nouvelle Subaru Impreza JRM.

On s’attend aussi à une belle bagarre en catégorie Junior avec 13 concurrents engagés. A domicile, le Tchèque Jan Cerny arrive en leader devant Stéphane Lefebvre, en tête du championnat Junior en WRC. Changement de monture pour le prometteur Chris Ingram qui débutera au volant d’une Peugeot 208 R2/Michelin.

Les cinq dernières éditions ont été remportées par le constructeur tchèque Skoda. Jan Kopecky, champion d’Europe en titre, s’est imposé à quatre reprises sur ce rallye. Il sera d’ailleurs à Zlin ce week-end, au volant d’une voiture ouvreuse équipée du moteur de la future Fabia R5. Michelin est invaincu au Barum Czech Rally Zlin depuis 2007. Ce week-end, le manufacturier de pneumatiques français propose à ses partenaires sa gamme de produits asphalte « Compétition-Client » Pilot Sport (R31, R21, R11 et R01).

Following a one-month summer break, the 2014 FIA European Rally Championship resumes this weekend in the Czech Republic where Craig Breen, Kevin Abbring, Ott Tanak, Esapekka Lappi and Kajetan Kajetanowicz will join battle with the local experts on the fast stages of the Barum Czech Rally Zlin.

The Czech round has been a late-August fixture for 10 years now and stands out through the rhythm of its fast, demanding stages which visit the region’s undulating prairieland and forests on occasionally poor quality asphalt.

This year’s menu features 15 stages totalling 237.33km, and action kicks off with Friday morning’s Qualifying Stage (4.44km), followed by the traditional super-special the same evening in the streets of Zlin (9.51km). Over the weekend, competitors will face the rally’s classic tests, namely Trojak (22.82km), Pindula (18.43km) and Kudlovice (21.41km), before Sunday afternoon’s finish in Zlin.

The 2014 Barum Czech Rally Zlin has attracted an outstanding entry, including an impressive list of local specialists, such as Vaclav Pech (Mini S2000), Roman Kresta (Skoda Fabia S2000), Tomas Kostka (Ford Fiesta R5), Jaromir Tarabus (Skoda Fabia S2000) and Pavel Valousek (Skoda Fabia S2000).

These drivers are likely to push the full contingent of ERC regulars extremely hard. The ranks of the latter feature Skoda Motorsport stars Esapekka Lappi and Sepp Wiegand, the Peugeot Rally Academy’s Craig Breen and Kevin Abbring (Peugeot 208 T16), Estonian Ott Tanak (Ford Fiesta R5), Pole Kajetan Kajetanowicz (Ford Fiesta R5), Portugal’s Bruno Magalhaes (Peugeot 208 T16), Irishman Robert Barrable (Ford Fiesta R5) and Briton Mark Higgins who will be giving JRM’s new Subaru Impreza its first competitive run.

An equally exciting scrap can be expected in the Junior class where the 13-strong field will be led by home-grown Jan Cerny who provisionally tops the standings, along with the Junior WRC’s pace-setter Stéphane Lefebvre. Meanwhile, the promising Chris Ingram has switched to a Peugeot 208 R2/Michelin.

Skoda has won the last five visits to Zlin and the European champion Jan Kopecky – who will be driving a ‘zero’ car powered by the engine of the upcoming Fabia R5 – has won the rally four times. Michelin is unbeaten on the Czech event since 2007 and users of the French firm’s products will be able to choose from the R31, R21, R11 and R01 versions of the Pilot Sport asphalt tyre.

MARC’S HUSCATI

A modern Café Racer will always divide opinion, much like many of the bikes that we feature, but what we hear more often is ‘well that’s not very practical’ and ‘you’ve gone for form over function’… and yes, that is often what custom bikes are all about, but this build is about function, purpose, ability and it just so happens that it does all that with style too.

This bike started off as Husqvarna Nuda 900R and was a press launch bike, and that’s the important bit here, due to being a press launch bike it is the R version, giving the standard bike fully adjustable Sachs forks and a swanky Ohlins rear shock. During the launch the bike was ridden by the wrong person and thrown down the road, so all of a sudden there was a brand new R version Nuda up for grabs and Marc seized the opportunity to get his perfect donor, the road tester had done a great job of damaging the bits that were not required and making the donor affordable; I wonder if Marc knew that road tester!

Marc is no stranger to us and his last build was a lovely little SR500 with all the right bits on it, his ethos back then was to create a bike that weighed as little as possible and handled as well as possible, and he still has that ethos with this build, but in addition he wanted 100% reliability, which is often one of the first things we sacrifice in this scene, of course we want our machines to be reliable, but deep down we don’t expect it and when they do break down, we’re seldom surprised!

Marc has done a bit of racing, firstly on MZ’s; the perfect school for learning how to fix a bike; as the paddock probably had more rebuilds taking place than any other series, then he went onto the more reliable SV’s, so it’s the racer in him that desires the stripped weight and better handling… and the reliability comes from having a greater desire to ride than repair, and amen to that!

So onto what makes this bike different and how come she’s called the Huscati! Well, for those paying attention, you may recall I mentioned the R version comes with fully adjustable Sachs forks and Ohlins rear shock, this Husky; in café setup wears the front end from a shiny Ducati 1198s, complete with light weight Marchesini front wheel and Brembo M4 calipers, this isn’t because the Sachs were ruined by the aforementioned tester, but because Marc wanted to match the rear shock and improve the front end, I say if you have a front end from an 1198s kicking around; use it, they look the business and work brilliantly. Yet the original front end is still used, Marc has gone for building a bike to fulfil all his needs, it is only in the above photo that we show you her in her café setup, the other setup is what Marc calls the Roadster, and he can swap between this and the café setup in about 30 minutes,

Further proof of Marc’s desire to use top notch parts is echoed with the LSL tank, seat and rear sets, none of which were available to the public when he got his hands on them, his SR500 build had been observed by LSL MD and he was so impressed that Marc jumped the production queue. The tank strap was made by local Brighton firm Born+Bred. When in Café form she has carbon fibre clip-ons, and is always dressed with red Venhill brake lines paired to Rizoma reservoirs. Billet alloy indicators nestle nicely into the trellis frame and a full Arrow exhaust system allows her to flow smoother and sound define. Paintwork has been done by one of our favourite custom painters, D, from D-Lucks; also down in Brighton. It had a metal flake, imported from America mixed to the chrome paint, and then she has real gold leaf, black and red for the Pin Stripes, within the tanks knee wedges she wears Marcs old race number, 77 in a matt shadow effect.

Next up from Marc will be a GS550 Brat style bike which he’s calling the “Trackbrat” which has got some serious trick parts and he hopes will feature on thebikeshed.cc pretty soon, as do we. His next project will be to turn a brand new Yamaha MT-07 into a cafe racer – this another parallel twin which has the potential to make a very good little street racer.

We look forward to seeing more from Marc, undoubtedly one of our most talented shed builders.

via The Bike Shed

Demons Don't Sleep - Troy Elmore

Huntington Beach, California, another day in paradise, another night to let the demons speak.
The horizon is just one black mass, and the breeze that hits us in the face is like a draught coming through the gates of hell that the devil himself has just opened. Leaning against the front of the local liquor store, Troy Elmore is but a shadow. The neon lights toy with his silhouette. At only 23, he is one of the anti-heroes, born and bred in the USA as most of them are, bringing a heavy dose of spunk and demons to a surf industry, which continues to make money by selling dreams.
French photographer & Desillusion Magazine editor in chief, Sebastien Zanella spent an all night session walking around the city to hear the confessions of one of the most stylish longboarders of our time.

Demons Don't Sleep - Troy Elmore from Desillusion Magazine on Vimeo.

Troy Elmore is supported by Vans

This short film is based on the article “Up all night, got demons to fight” published in Desillusion Magazine 45 , Tome 1 available ontiny.cc/sj8ofx

Baja Poland: Poland to welcome 112 competitors in Baja Poland this weekend.

As many as 121 cars, motorbikes, quads and trucks appear on the entry lists of BAJA POLAND 2014, the second-biggest marathonrally in Poland. Among cars there are 37 crews from 14 different countries fighting for points to the FIA World Cup for Cross Country Rallies.

23 crews will be allowed to score points for CEZ (Central Europe Zone), among them also some trucks. Baja Poland constitutes also a round of Poland Cup where we could admire 21 extra cars. Besides them, the cities Szczecin and Drawsko Pomorskie will host 40 motorbikes and quads. All entries can be seen HERE.

Among the drivers there are no missing names from the world’s top. The entry list is opened by the current FIA World Cup classification leader, Vladimir Vasilyev from Russia (X-raid Mini All4 Racing. However, actually it is Nasser Al-Attiyah (Overdrive Toyota Hilux) who is the most successful driver. Two weeks ago the Quatari competitor won the "Hungarian Baja" and is one of the main contenders to take victory in the FIA World Cup.

Al-Attiyah has a Dakar Rally win under his belt as well as the FIA World Cup triumph. He was also grabbed the title in the Middle East Rally Championship on nine occasions and is a bronze medallist at the Olympic Games in London in ... skeet shooting.

The Czech driver Miroslav Zapletal (Hummer H3 Proto) and the Dutchman Bernhard Ten Brinke (Overdrive Toyota) also aspire to top positions. Besides them there is also a strong pack of Polish drivers with Krzysztof Holowczyc (Mini), Martin Kaczmarski (Mini), Adam Malysz and Marek Dabrowski (both Overdrive Toyota).

There is also a sensational four-wheel debut from Tadeusz “Taddy” Blazusiak (Overdrive Toyota) – a star of the world’s enduro-cross scene and five time world champion in Super Enduro.

Among the motorcycles we will see the returning from injury Jakub Przygonski, who among the Alessandro Rusou from Italy, Adrien Mare from Monaco and Alex Zanotti from San Marino is one of the main contenders for victory in the FIM Cup for Bajas. Among quad drivers the main contenders are Alexandre Giroud from France and the Poles, Kamil Wisniewski and Zbigniew Zych.

In the heaviest category of trucks the Polish-Czech crew of Robert Szustkowski / Jaroslaw Kazberuk / Filip Skrobanek will be the arch rivals for the Kazakhstan crew leading by Artur
via www.marathonrally.com

HONDA XR650L BY DIGITAL DIRECTIV

The Honda XR650L is one of those big, bulletproof dual sport bikes that never seem to change. It’s tough and simple to fix, just like its evergreen competitors—the Suzuki DR650 and the Kawasaki KLR650.

With a 21-inch front wheel and a 37-inch seat height, the XR650L is not exactly custom-friendly. So this retro-inspired revamp from Joe Tessitore of Digital Directiv caught my eye.

“I’m not a big fan of commissioned builds,” says Joe, “but every once in a while someone proposes a project that sounds like fun. That was this bike.” It started life as a 2007-model XR650L, minus the generic red bodywork: the owner had pulled off the plastic in an attempt to find cleaner lines.

Known for its easygoing, torquey engine but far-from-fantastic looks, the XR would need a lot of massaging to reach the end goal—a Bultaco-inspired custom with a vintage supermoto flavor. “We wanted it to look like it could have come from the factory,” says Joe. “If supermotos existed in the 70s, we this is what they would have looked like.”

Joe replaced the ugly asymmetrical subframe rails with fresh, straight tubes and gussets to give an open and clean rear triangle. At the same time, he added a kicked-up hoop to support the abbreviated rear fender. The rest of the frame was smoothed and de-tabbed and under the seat is a custom-fabricated battery box, replacing the big plastic factory unit. The refinished engine stays with the vintage theme, thanks to a healthy dose of polished aluminum.

This XR650L lives mainly on the street, so the long and somewhat sloppy suspension travel wasn’t good enough. To tighten things up, Joe has braced the forks, lowered the ride height an inch and a half, and fitted Progressive Suspension springs. New wheels help the handling too: aluminum rims laced with stainless spokes from Buchannan’s and hooked up to freshly powdercoated hubs. The tires are Pirelli Scorpions.

“To say she handles the road better than her stock siblings would be an understatement,” Joe reports. “As for my favorite part: we removed two feet from the wiring harness, relocated the ignition, and tucked all the electrical components into the battery box and under the tank.”

Tony’s Customs and New Church Moto came through with vintage-styled paint and upholstery. And small but important details helped to complete the look, like CNC brackets from Motofactory and a reproduction Bultaco taillight from Spain.

It’s a beautiful, one-of-a-kind bike that Joe had a hard time letting go. “Almost every piece received personal attention, and there are more one-off mods than I can count,” he says. “I think Honda would have been proud to roll this one off the assembly line.”

Get in touch with Joe via the Digital Directiv website. And if you need any advice on electrical matters, check out his brilliant article on How To Wire Your Motorcycle.

via BIKEexif

Márquez sonne l’arrivée du MotoGP™ en Grande-Bretagne / Marquez brings London to a standstill on Millennium Bridge

Marc Márquez a eu l’occasion de faire rugir son RC213V sur le spectaculaire Millennium Bridge de Londres mercredi, lors d’un évènement organisé par Dorna Sports et BT Sport pour marquer l’arrivée du MotoGP™ en Grande-Bretagne.

Les Londoniens présents au pied de la Cathédrale St Paul et sur les bords de la Tamise ont pu assister à un évènement exceptionnel mercredi puisque le Champion du Monde MotoGP™ Marc Márquez était invité à traverser le Millennium Bridge à moto et devenait le premier homme à traverser l’emblématique passerelle londonienne sur un véhicule motorisé.

Après sa traversée, le leader du Championnat du Monde MotoGP™ a ravi les fans en réalisant de spectaculaires burnouts, avant de rejoindre les Britanniques Bradley Smith, Michael Laverty, Leon Camier, Sam Lowes, Danny Kent et John McPhee pour découvrir l’une des spécialités locales, lefish & chips, emballée, comme le veut la tradition, dans du papier journal. 

« C’était génial de devenir la première personne au monde à traverser le Millennium Bridge sur une moto, » a déclaré Márquez. « L’évènement était très important pour le MotoGP avant le Grand Prix de Grande-Bretagne et nous avons eu beaucoup de chance avec la météo, je m’attendais à ce qu’il pleuve ici en Angleterre ! Passer une aussi belle journée ici dans le centre de Londres, au bord de la Tamise et pour un évènement historique a été une expérience mémorable. Le revêtement métallique du pont ne m’a pas rendu la tâche facile mais je suis allé aussi vite que je le pouvais ! »

Márquez a continué sa visite de Londres mercredi après-midi avant de mettre le cap sur Silverstone pour le Grand Prix Hertz de Grande-Bretagne.

Marc Marquez’s record-breaking MotoGP™ season continued on Wednesday in somewhat unfamiliar surroundings. In an event organised by Dorna Sports and BT Sport, the Repsol Honda Team rider brought London to a standstill as he became the first person ever to cross the iconic Millennium Bridge with a motor vehicle.

In the shadow of St. Paul’s Cathedral and navigating his way across the River Thames, the British public enjoyed both the sights and sounds of MotoGP ahead of this weekend’s Hertz British Grand Prix, Round 12 of the World Championship.

The ride concluded with spectacular burnouts as fans flocked over the edges of office balconies and along the banks of the river, with Marquez then being joined by British riders Bradley Smith, Michael Laverty, Leon Camier, Sam Lowes, Danny Kent and John McPhee who introduced the Spaniard to fish and chips wrapped in newspaper.

"It was really nice to become the first ever person to cross the Millennium Bridge on a motorbike," Marquez smiled. "This event was really important for MotoGP ahead of the British Grand Prix and we were very lucky with the weather - I normally expect rain in England! So to be here in the centre of London on such a bright day, riding over the River Thames and making history was a memorable experience. The slippery metal surface of the bridge did not make it easy, but I went as fast as I could!"

Marquez continued to enjoy London on Wednesday afternoon before making his way towards Silverstone for this weekend’s action. Opening Free Practice will commence at 9:00am local time (GMT +1) on Friday with the Moto3™ riders first out on track, with Sunday’s MotoGP race beginning at 1pm.

24H Barcelone : 70 engagés représentant 18 marques ! / 70 teams on the provisional entry list for 24H Barcelona

Après un break estival, les 24H SERIES powered by Hankook 2014 effectueront leur rentrée à l’occasion des 24H BARCELONA, programmées du 5 au 7 septembre sur le Circuit de Barcelona Catalunya. La liste provisoire des engagés en vue de cette épreuve d’endurance réservée aux GT, voitures de Tourisme et 24H Specials compte 70 équipages, avec des pilotes venant de 25 pays différents, et pas moins de 18 marques représentées sur la grille de départ. Pas de doute, c’est à de la grande compétition que l’on peut s’attendre.

“Les 24H BARCELONA gagne en popularité chaque année’’, se félicite Gerrie Willems, porte-parole de l’agence néerlandaise CREVENTIC, qui assure la promotion et l’organisation des 24H BARCELONA en collaboration avec le Circuit de Barcelona Catalunya et le Royal Automobile Club de Catalunya (RACC). “Depuis que nous sommes partie prenante, l’événement s’est développé, passant d’une épreuve essentiellement nationale à une vraie course d’endurance internationale, similaire aux autres courses de notre 24H SERIES powered by Hankook. Pour nous, la collaboration avec nos partenaires du Circuit de Barcelona Catalunya et du RACC est toujours une expérience plaisante, et il est bien sûr agréable de constater que de nombreux teams qui nous connaissent pour avoir participé à d’autres événements organisés par nos soins sont devenus des participants réguliers en Catalogne. En outre, de nombreuses équipes nouvelles nous rejoignent cette année.’’

Le Circuit de Barcelona Catalunya, qui sert de cadre chaque année au Grand Prix d’Espagne de Formule 1 et à la manche catalane du MotoGP, est un exemple du genre en termes d’infrastructures, ayant pour autre avantage, et non des moindres, d’être situé à quelques encablures de la ville de Barcelone. “Et tout le monde adore Barcelone, où la météo est généralement très agréable, ce qui, combiné à une épreuve internationale de 24 heures, multiplie les plaisirs’’, pointe Gerrie Willems.

La Classe A6 compte une belle brochette de GT3, avec des Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 (la voiture lauréate des 24H BARCELONA 2013), Ferrari 458 Italia GT3, Lamborghini FL2 GT3, Audi R8 LMS et BMW Z4 GT3. De nombreuses Porsche Cup sont engagées dans la Classe 997. Dans la catégorie SP2, plusieurs Silhouettes sont annoncées, dont la GC Automobile 10 V8, qui vient de France comme la Renault Mégane Trophy, mais aussi l’australienne MARC Focus. La Classe SP3 reste la chassée gardée des GT4, incluant des BMW M3 et Z4, Lotus Evora et Aston Martin Vantage. Comme d’habitude, les catégories réservées aux voitures de Tourisme (Classes A5, A4, A3T, A2 et D1) comprennent des marques comme BMW, Honda, MINI, Nissan, Peugeot, Renault, Volkswagen, en plus bien sûr de la présence du constructeur local SEAT, dont les quartiers généraux sont situés à Mertorell, très près du Circuit de Barcelona Catalunya. Plus d’infos au sujet des 24H BARCELONA et les autres manches de la 24H SERIES powered by Hankook sur www.24hseries.com.

Engagés

after the summer break, the 2014 24H SERIES powered by Hankook returns to action with the 24H BARCELONA at the Circuit de Barcelona Catalunya coming up from 5 till 7 September. The provisional entry list for the international endurance race for GTs, touring cars and 24H Specials already includes 70 teams with drivers from 25 different nationalities and no less than 18 different car brands represented on the grid. Therefore, exciting competition with plenty of variety is expected.

“The 24H BARCELONA is getting more and more popular every year,” says Gerrie Willems on behalf of Dutch agency, CREVENTIC, promoters and organisers of the 24H BARCELONA in co-operation with the Circuit de Barcelona Catalunya and the Royal Automobile Club of Catalunya (RACC). “Since we came on board a few years ago, the event has developed from a predominantly national affair to a true international endurance race, similar to the other events of our 24H SERIES powered by Hankook. For us, the co-operation with our partners of the Circuit de Barcelona Catalunya and the RACC is always a pleasant experience and it is nice for us to see that many teams who know us from our other events have become regular competitors in Barcelona, too, plus, of course, the many new teams that are joining us every year.”

The Circuit de Barcelona Catalunya, best known as the venue for the annual Spanish Formula 1 Grand Prix and the Catalan round of the MotoGP series, is a state-of-the-art facility that has all the advantages of the nearby city of Barcelona as an additional asset. “Everybody loves Barcelona, the weather is usually nice and being able to combine that with the pleasure of an international 24-hour race is a great opportunity for everyone involved,” Gerrie Willems emphasizes.

The A6 class has a nice array of GT3 cars, such as Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 (the winning car of the 24H BARCELONA in 2013), Ferrari 458 Italia GT3, Lamborghini FL2 GT3, Audi R8 LMS and BMW Z4. Various Porsche Cup cars have been entered in the 997 class. The SP2 class caters mainly for silhouette cars such as the French GC Automobiles GC 10 V8, the Renault Mégane Trophy and the Australian-built MARC Focus. SP3 is the domain of GT4 cars including BMW M3 and Z4, Lotus Evora and Aston Martin Vantage. As usual, the touring car classes A5, A4, A3T, A2 and D1 include a variety of brands with BMW, Honda, MINI, Nissan, Peugeot, Renault and Volkswagen, plus, of course, a huge presence for local brand SEAT that has its headquarters in Martorell, very close to the Circuit de Barcelona Catalunya. More information about the 24H BARCELONA and the other rounds of the 24H SERIES powered by Hankook can be found at: www.24hseries.com.

Baja Poland: X-raid with four Mini All4 Racing - chase for World Cup continues.

The Monster Energy X-raid Team currently has a busy schedule. This weekend, just two weeks after the "Hungarian Baja", X-raid will be back in action: The battle for FIA Cross Country World Cup points will be continued in the "Baja Poland", with Russian pairing Vladimir Vasilyev / Konstantin Zhiltsov planning to use this event for consolidating and possibly even extending their FIA Cross Country Rally World Cup lead.

At the same time, Poland’s Martin Kaczmarski and his compatriot and Monster Energy X-raid Team driver, Krzysztof Holowczyc, also want to shine in front of their home crowd. The fourth Mini All4 Racing to contest the Baja Poland will be raced by the German pairing Stephan Schott / Holm Schmidt.

In the first seven rounds of the season, Vasilyev acquired a 56-point lead over second-placed Nasser Al-Attiyah and a 72-point lead over Yazeed Al-Rajhi in third position. With another three rounds to go, there still are 120 points to be secured, 30 of the in the forthcoming Baja Poland.

Just as it was the case in the Baja Aragon, Kaczmarski is going to contest the Baja Poland with his new Finnish navigator Tapio Suominen. In Spain, the ambitious Pole finished third behind his team mates Nani Roma and Orlando Terranova.

Meanwhile, Holowczyc hopes to finally make an end to his streak of bad luck. He is going to contest his home event together with Frenchman Xavier Panseri who resides in Poland. And for Schott it’s the first appearance since his very fine fifth place in the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge.

Other than the short Hungarian Baja the Baja Poland is a three-day event. On the first two days, the service park will be located in Szczecin. From there, the Baja Poland will be started on Friday with an eight-kilometer prologue. On Saturday, the teams will have to complete two 192 kilometer special stages and then, the service park will be moved to Drawsko Pomorskie for the Sunday action, featuring two 65 kilometer special stages.

"We are entering the FIA World Cup home straight," said Team Manager Sven Quandt. "There are another three events to be contested and the Baja Poland could result in a tendency. Vladimir has to stay calm and focused like in the last races. His rivals have to push and take risks if they want to try to close in on him."

"The Bajas are only short events but you have to be extremely focused, nevertheless," said Vasilyev. "The tight, winding roads – often with trees, bushes or rocks on the roadside – are unforgiving. Just as we did in Spain and Hungary, we once again will focus on adding points to our tally." 

Rally dos Sertões: Paulo Gonçalves clinches victory in SS04 - the longest stage / Two X-Rally NWM Ford Ranger in good 2nd and 4th position

The Brazilian "Rally dos Sertoes" arrives at its mid-point with the race’s longest timed special, in a stage run over a variety of different types of track, amidst the distinctive reddish hue of the Brazilian terrain. Wednesday’s 4th stage, with a total of 363.85 kilometers, set off from Paracatu.

Once the 125 kilometer link had been passed, it was pedal to the metal in the timed section - a very well-rounded special that included a narrow, hard and damaged track, that had been at the mercy of the rain and elements. The route also took in a fair amount of sand, as well as creeks and fords of varying water levels. The riders arrived in the town of San Francisco after a ferry-crossing, on the river bearing the same name; thus completing a total stage distance of 585.30 kilometers.

It was first and third place for the two Honda CRF450 Rally riders, and the third time that Paulo Goncalves has marked the best time in a special so far. The Portuguese rider’s aim was clear - nothing less than victory – and not even a slight time-consuming error was able to dent the Honda rider’s continual will to win. In doing so, Goncalves cuts down the deficit with the leader by 1 minute 15 seconds leaving the Honda rider just two minutes adrift of Marc Coma.

"I had a great day today," said Goncalves. "I started from third place and I started to really push. Towards the middle of the stage I made a slight mistake, I momentarily lost concentration and lost a bit of time. I really forced it on the last part and made up time and won the stage. I’m really pleased for me, for the CRF450 Rally and for all the rest of the HRC Team, which is doing a great job. We will continue to work hard over the next few days, as we are now at the half-way point."

Helder Rodrigues performed well, taking third place and moving in on third place Brazilian Jean Azevedo, from the Honda Brazil team, who crossed the line in fourth on the day. "Today was a very long stage with rocks, sand and hard ground... navigation and everything. It was a long day for everybody. I pushed as hard as I could and set a good pace; I had lost a bit of time at the beginning, but I kept trying to push and managed to maintain a fairly fast speed in the final part," Rodrigues said.

Team HRC Team Manager Wolfgang Fischer said about the day: "The HRC Team finished the longest special of the rally. Paul was able to finish the day with a win, and Helder too, was on the podium in third place. Both are fighting to improve their positions. Helder is close to the podium and Paulo too, is looking for victory. There are three days left and we hope to get a good result. The bike is running well, and the riders and the mechanics too. Everything is in good shape."

"Tonight the mechanics will have a lot of work to do. They will be concentrating on the bikes that will have to be ready for the two days of the marathon stage that await. That means that from tomorrow, until the day after tomorrow, it will be forbidden for the mechanics to help. The riders will be alone in the camp, and the bikes in the parc fermé without the mechanics."


Many kilometers of sandy roads made teams and drivers work on tyre strategy for the fifth stage of Brazil´s "Rally dos Sertões", with a total of 585,3 kilometers between Paracatu and São Francisco, where the NWM / X-Rally Team duos made a bet on the power of the Ford Ranger 5-litre V8 to make the difference on the long straights in the way.

However, the quantity of sand in some stretches held both of the Baumgart brothers´ Ford Ranger 4x4, giving room to Reinaldo Varela / Gustavo Gugelmin (Overdrive Toyota Hilux) win with Guilherme Spinelli / Youssef Haddad (Mitsubishi ASX) 27 seconds behind.

Cristian and Marcos Baumgarts gamble was that the good top speeds the Ford Ranger 4x4 reaches in the straights would have compensated the lack of grip in some spots - and the stage had some of them. But the heavy sand sectors made the specific tyres chosen by Varela and Spinelli work better to open a gap from the yellow Vedacit cars.

Cristian Baumgart / Beco Andreotti came third, 2:42 minutes off Varela. Marcos Baumgart felt the lack of grip even more in some moments of the race, which reflected in his and co-driver Kleber Cincea fourth place, dropping 8:26 mins down, but still in fourth position overall.

"It wasn´t sand the whole stage, but it made a huge difference," said Christian Baumgart. "We were more conservative in terms of tyre strategy, and it cost us some minutes We had an excellent car in hands, and we reached the cars in front several times when the surface was harder, but then we´d find sand in the way once more, holding us back again."

Marcos Baumgart said: "It was a fun stage to drive, but we had little or no grip at some points, and that jeopardized our pace today. There´s still a little bit for me to reach the limit of the car, and I am working on it, step by step. In a rally like the Sertões, you don´t want to rush things up - it always charge its price, and it´s not cheap."

During the night, the NWM / X-Rally Team mechanics and engineers work on both cars looking forward to the marathon-stage on Thursday, which will be the longest day of the 2014 Rally dos Sertões, with 718 kilometers, of which 336 kms worth the stage. After the cars stop at parc-fermé, only drivers and co-drivers are allowed to work on the cars. Any team assistance is forbidden whatsoever.

via http://www.marathonrally.com