Moto GP : Rossi revient sur sa chute au MotorLand Aragón / Rossi reflects on security after Aragon crash

Valentino Rossi s'est confié à l'émission 'Paddock Pass Show' de Sky Sport jeudi après-midi à Motegi après la conférence de presse du Grand Prix Motul du Japon.

As-tu bien récupéré de ta chute en Aragón ?

« Oui, je vais bien. C'était une grosse chute mais j'allais bien deux heures plus tard, il n'y a pas eu de problème. Je me souviens de tout. Disons que j'ai eu une petite commotion mais tout va bien. Je suis le même qu'avant. Mais je ne suis pas meilleur qu'avant, ça aurait pu être une bonne opportunité ! »

Ta moto t'a-t-elle touché dans la chute ?

« Oui, j'ai pris un gros coup. C'était la roue arrière de la moto, je m'en souviens bien. Mais la roue m'a ensuite touché par derrière, sur la droite, et c'est le coup qui m'a mis K.O. »

As-tu perdu connaissance ?

« Oui, pendant une minute peut-être. J'ai fait une petite sieste… »

Mais tu es à 100% maintenant ?

« Oui. Je suis resté chez moi, calme, au repos. Mais je me suis aussi cassé un doigt dans la chute et c'est un problème. Ça ne me pose pas de problème dans la vie de tous les jours mais pour piloter si. J'ai essayé de rouler mardi dernier et c'était douloureux. C'est une petite fracture et j'espère que ça ne me gênera pas trop. C'est l'index de la main droite, c'est un doigt très important pour freiner. »

Que penses-tu de la sécurité sur les courses, notamment après l'accident de Jules Bianchi en Formule 1 ?

« Je sais qu'il y a des pilotes qui se plaignent des courses à drapeau blanc et nous en parlerons demain à la Commission de Sécurité. C'est clairement un peu dangereux, surtout quand on reste sur slicks alors que la piste est mouillée. Mais le drapeau blanc est une solution à un problème et elle permet de ne pas arrêter la course quand il se met à pleuvoir. Ce serait moins dangereux si la course était arrêtée mais nous en parlerons demain. »

« En ce qui concerne Jules, je suis vraiment désolé, je l'avais rencontré à Madonna di Campiglio. C'est un quelqu'un de bien, avec beaucoup de talent, et c'est très triste. Il a été très malchanceux parce que la grue n'aurait jamais dû être à cet endroit. C'était problablement une erreur parce qu'une course doit être arrêtée ou au moins contrôlée par le safety car si une grue entre sur une zone de dégagement. »

Following Thursday’s Motul Grand Prix of Japan press conference Valentino Rossi provided an interview to the Italian Sky Sport MotoGP HD programme ‘Paddock Pass Show’.

Have you recovered from your crash at Aragon?

“Yes, I'm fine. It was a big crash, but two hours later I was fine, no problems, I remember everything. Let’s say I had a little concussion, but everything is fine. I’m the same as before. In any case I’m not better than I was before, perhaps it could have been a good opportunity!”

Did the bike hit you during the crash?

“Yes, I think the bike gave me a big knock. It was the rear tyre of the bike because as I fell I took a hit, but I remember it well. But then, I think, the wheel hit me from behind on the right and that was the blow that knocked me out.”

So, you lost consciousness?

“Yeah, maybe for one minute. I took a little nap!”

But now you're 100% ok?

“Yes, of course, I’ve been at home, calm and relaxed. But also in the crash I broke a finger, and this is a problem because it does not bother me in normal life but it might to ride. On Tuesday I tried it with a street bike, but it hurt a lot. It is a small fracture and I hope it doesn’t bother me too much as it’s the index finger of the right hand, which is important for braking.”

What are your thoughts on safety in racing, especially after what happened in F1 with the Jules Bianchi accident?

“I’ve heard that there are riders who have complained about ‘flag-to-flag’ races, and tomorrow we'll talk about that at the Safety Commission meeting. Certainly it is a bit dangerous, especially because often you stay on track with slick tyres on wet asphalt, which is a dangerous situation with our bikes. But let's say ‘flag-to-flag’ is a solution to a problem, not having to stop the race because of rain. If the race was stopped it would be less dangerous, but as I say we'll talk about it tomorrow.”

“With respect to Bianchi, I’m so sorry, because I met him once at Maddona di Campiglio. He is a very nice, young guy with great talent and it is a real shame. He has had very bad luck, because the truck should not have been in the run-off area. It was probably a mistake, because if a crane is working on a run-off area they should stop the race or at least bring out the safety car.”

FLY AND DRIVE: ICELAND

by Christophe Noelby Christophe Noel

I’m not going to lie, I was properly nervous. My wife, sitting next to me with her hands over her eyes, was clearly more than a tad anxious. I engaged the low range, felt the revs build slowly, let out the clutch, and rolled forward––not too quickly, just fast enough to make the crossing. The wheels splashed into the water and vanished with alarming speed. The water lapped over the wheel arches, the bow wave perfectly matched to the size of the vehicle, which was admittedly, not all that big. We were in the backcountry of Iceland in a rented Suzuki Jimny and as we crossed another wild river, one of dozens on our route, we whooped and shouted, celebrating the thwarted purchase of a flooded Suzuki.

For many overlanders, certainly those with tens of thousands of dollars invested in their much-loved vehicles, the thought of traveling without it is heartbreaking. For me, it’s all about the adventure and given that Iceland is roughly 4,373 miles from my front door, and more to the point, a tiny island in the North Atlantic, renting a vehicle seemed like the thing to do.

The world is full of exotic overlanding destinations, Iceland certainly one of the best. With only one primary road encircling the perimeter of the country, the entire interior is untamed, rugged, and webbed with narrow, bumpy, potholed, and unsealed roads. It is one of the most striking landscapes in the world with glaciers capping active volcanoes, black sand beaches, and basalt cliffs specced with white sea birds. Verdant farmlands along the coast give way to rolling hills of green moss and jagged lava fields as you drive towards the center of the island. Waterfalls abound, many seemingly ripped from the pages of fairy tales. The extremes of the island even include Europe’s largest desert complete with dust storms and what at first glimpse seems like lifeless voids. Villages are few and far between with the large majority of the country’s populous living in and around the capital city. Design your route carefully, and you can find profound solitude.

Visiting this otherworldly destination is actually rather easy. Flights into the main airport in Keflavik, just 45 minutes south of the capital city of Reykjavik, are becoming more frequent and surprisingly affordable. For our fly-and-drive journey into Iceland, we rented our Jimny from Blue Car Rental, their office conveniently located just a short walk from the arrivals gate at the airport.

A quick search of the internet reveals an unusually large number of rental agencies for a small country of just a few hundred thousand inhabitants. Deeper searches reveal an unnerving number of horrible reviews, some detailing poor service, unreliable vehicles, or lengthy battles disputing unauthorized credit card charges. The other aspect of Icelandic car rental worth noting is the potential to spend a fortune. Some agencies renting higher dollar vehicles, or even rather ordinary options, can fetch north of $200 for a single day’s use. All of this weighed heavy on my mind as I decided which company to contact.

Drawing on recommendations from an Icelandic friend who works in the hospitality and travel industry in Reykjavik, I took her recommendation and contacted Magnus at Blue Car Rental. Not to make this sound like an overwhelming plug for their agency, our experience was nothing but positive.

As we ventured beyond the suburbs and slipped into the backcountry, our choice of the Jimny seemed perfect. A small island with tiny roads, the diminutive Suzuki seemed like the only way to go. Driving through the lava fields and rural farmlands of the southern coast, we ventured past the town of Vik and then started to work our way north on the Fjallabak route towards Landmannalauger. Crossing countless rivers, we trundled down the bumpy roads that twisted through massive piles of volcanic ash and over huge hills offering amazing vistas. We felt a certain pity for those travelers, of whom there are thousands, who visit Iceland and never venture off the paved Ring Road that incircles the island.

With an extensive network of campgrounds, small inns, and guest houses, traveling by way of rented 4×4, even a tiny one like a Jimny, was easy to facilitate and immensely rewarding. Over the span of 12 days, we went on to visit the beauty of the Snæfellsnes peninsula, the fjords of the northern shore, and vast stretches of the interior, our wheels taking dirt whenever possible.

Although it is possible to rent vehicles of any size, including Blue Car Rental’s luxurious and capable 200 Series Land Cruisers, our little Jimny did great. Fuel efficient and surprisingly comfortable, it also did far better off-road than many people would care to admit. Sipping fuel and the least expensive 4×4 to rent on the island, we couldn’t have made a better choice. If you’re up for a big adventure, don’t mind leaving your beloved truck behind, a fly-and-drive adventure in Iceland should be on your short list.

www.bluecarrental.is

Author’s Note: Because Expedition Portal members are frequently curious about the cost of travel to such exotic locations, I thought it necessary to detail some of the modest expenses of this trip. Airfare on Delta Airlines, from as far away as Phoenix Sky Harbor, was as little as $1075. Car rental through Blue Car Rentalwas quite reasonable at only $125.00 per day. Knowing that meals and hotel accommodations can be expensive, we reduced our cost of travel by camping most nights. Campground fees seldom tipped $25 for two people. Fuel was expensive, pushing well beyond twice our normal price here in the states, but the high efficiency of the Jimny greatly reduced that outlay of cash. All in all, it wasn’t any more expensive than any similar trip we would have taken within our home borders.

via http://expeditionportal.com

D&O’s Triumph Scrambler

The team at Down & Out Cafe Racers have had a busy summer since they took over a large chunk of floor space at the BSMC Event III in May, has it really been that long already?! Shaun has a precedent of building bikes he likes, for himself and if he keeps them, fine and if he sells them, that’s fine too. So this Triumph Scrambler is not only a break from their usual BMW fare but a chance to work on newer machinery. A one owner bike with a paltry 800 miles on the clock languished in the workshop all summer, awaiting a fettle.

Standard isn’t Shaun’s bag so without tearing the bike to pieces, he had to hold back from a full on custom job and choose components that would compliment the work already carried out by the boys from Hinkley. The overhanging rear end is one area that always needs attention on a Scrambler so he started there by binning the standard mudguard, chopping the subframe and fitting a more svelte unit.

A Koso tacho and electronic speedo unit allows for clear decks up front, with the ignition being relocated under the fuel tank courtesy of an LSL unit. Being able to produce components in batches, to the same dimensions and quality every time is a real bonus with budgets and margins as tight as they are in the custom scene, so a headlight with bespoke stainless steel brackets was plucked right off the shelf in D&O parts department. Mini alloy LEDs are serve a second function, to bolt the headlight to the mounts, neat.

Shorter side panels and front mudguard do their bit to reduce the standard Scrambler’s lardy physique. Stainless spokes laced to black-powdered rims look the business with Heidenau’s venerable K60 Scouts wrapped around them. Ripping through the city or a dirty weekend, Heidenau seem to offer a choice of rubber to suit most sizes.

Shaun was tempted to bend and exhaust from scratch but decided that the Zard unit, made in Italy, looked just right and sounded perfect and compliment the offbeat 270˚ firing order of the Scrambler twin.

According to the Down & Out website Shaun’s sausage fingers might not be able to hold a TiG torch still enough to execute the small and neat welds on the headlight brackets, so I presume Carl took care of fabricating these. The plastic brake fluid reservoir has been swapped for a billet LSL version, much smarter. Whilst on the phone a pair of their foot pegs were ordered.

Around 4 inches were lopped off the seat to keep proportions looking like they were designed for folk this side of the Atlantic, yet still leaving room to carry crumpet. Another set of mini alloy LED indicators nearly disappear when not illuminated. YSS shockers are properly made, look good and offer much improved damping over standard.

The fuel tank is the handiwork of Arny at Pro Customs, who laid down coats of flat gold. The lack of lacquer doesn’t reduce the lustre though, (say that after a few beers), with the colour holding its own and looking awesome against the blacks and greys of engine and componentry. A custom alloy cap, in matt, crowns the work nicely. Earlier Scramblers had lacquered outer engine cases which can chip and go milky over time, plus they look cheap, so on this bike a rough finish silver-grey powder coat has been applied and gives a more up to date look.

The team at Down & Out offer top notch workmanship and can build more or less anything you like, just as long as it meets with Shaun’s approval. Head over to their website to order ready-to-fit parts and discuss build options.

Thanks to Simon for taking pretty pictures. …Oh, and if you really like this one, it is for sale. See more from Down & Out Cafe Racers on The Bike Shed.

FIA World Endurance Championship : Fuji : Qui de Audi, Porsche ou Toyota l’emportera…

par Laurent Mercier

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A quatre courses de la fin du Championnat du Monde d’Endurance de la FIA, tout reste à faire en LM P1 et aucun faux pas ne sera admis pour les prétendants aux titres. Anthony Davidson, Nicolas Lapierre et Sébastien Buemi arriveront au pied du Mont Fuji en leaders du championnat avec 11 points d’avance sur Marcel Fässler, Benoît Tréluyer et André Lotterer. Malheureusement, Nico Lapierre ne pourra pas défendre ses chances dans le baquet de la Toyota TS040 HYBRID #8 à Fuji.

Avec un handicap de 24 points, Tom Kristensen et Lucas di Grassi ne devront pas se louper, de même que Stéphane Sarrazin et Alex Wurz avec 53 points à remonter. Absent au Mans, Loïc Duval ne peut plus espérer garder sa couronne, tandis que chez Toyota, Kazuki Nakajima est hors du coup du fait de son absence à Austin. Chez Porsche Team, les mieux placés sont Marc Lieb, Romain Dumas et Neel Jani avec 51 points de retard. Leurs équipiers Mark Webber, Brendon Hartley et Timo Bernhard sont décrochés avec 70,5 à combler. Au Championnat du Monde des Constructeurs, Audi mène avec 157 points, contre 139 à Toyota et 82 à Porsche. Avec 104 points à distribuer d’ici Sao Paulo, tout est encore possible…

Sur ses terres, le Toyota Racing aura à cœur de se montrer surtout que le constructeur japonais est invaincu à domicile avec la victoire de la TS030 HYBRID #7 en 2012 et 2013. Yoshiaki Kinoshita, président du Toyota Racing, attend beaucoup de cette manche nipponne : « C’est toujours un plaisir de courir devant nos supporters, à Fuji. Cette année, nous allons au Japon non seulement déterminés à maintenir notre position de vainqueur là-bas, mais aussi pour offrir un spectacle fantastique aux fans. La pluie de l’année dernière fut une terrible déception car la bataille en piste aurait pu être passionnante, mais malgré tout les fans ont fait preuve d’un bien bel esprit. Cette année, j’espère que la météo sera plus clémente et que nous leur donnerons matière à se réjouir. Nous sommes vraiment motivés pour répliquer après la déception d’Austin, de plus, Fuji est l’endroit idéal pour le faire. »

Chasseur jusqu’au Mans, Audi est maintenant le chassé. Après quatre des huit rendez-vous, le constructeur allemand compte 18 points d’avance sur la plus proche concurrence. Le circuit de Fuji est pour le moment le seul grain de sable chez Audi, ce que les troupes du Dr Wolfgang Ullrich comptent bien résoudre : « Après une course tactique à Austin, nous avons pris l’ascendant au niveau Constructeurs. Au Texas, les fans ont encore pu voir un combat très excitant entre les trois marques Audi, Porsche et Toyota, comme ce fut le cas au Mans. Nous savons combien cette course de Fuji sera difficile. Nous serions vraiment ravis de gagner enfin au Japon. »

Le discours est le même chez Ralf Jüttner, directeur de Audi Sport Team Joest : « Nous sommes impatients de nous rendre à Fuji. Les fans japonais sont très enthousiastes avec beaucoup d’amour des courses du FIA WEC. La piste de Fuji est très spéciale. Il y a un an, nous étions en pole, mais la course s’est vite transformée en lac. Cela va être excitant de rivaliser face à Toyota dans leur course à domicile. Nous allons remuer ciel et terre pour gagner pour la première fois à Fuji. »

Porsche Team va pour sa part découvrir les 4.563 km du tracé de Fuji qui comprend 16 virages (10 à droite et 6 à gauche). Sur la longue ligne droite d’environ 1500 mètres, les Porsche 919 Hybrid devraient atteindre les 300 km/h. Les deux 919 Hybrid auront le droit à 3.11 MJ par tour pour une consommation de 1.8 litres. La #14 et la #20 devraient donc ravitailler tous les 38 tours si aucune neutralisation ne vient perturber la marche en avant des concurrents. C’est donc en territoire inconnu que va arriver Fritz Enzinger, vice-président LM P1 : « Nous sommes impatients de relever les défis de Fuji. A Austin, nous étions bien présents en qualifications en partant deuxième et troisième, avant de mener la course durant 43 tours grâce à un bon choix de pneus, mais la fin ne s’est pas déroulée comme nous l’espérions. Avec la #20, nous avons perdu un tour dans des conditions difficiles avant le deuxième départ. Quant à la #14, elle a souffert d’un problème technique avec une perte de puissance dans le système de refroidissement de suralimentation. L’analyse faite à Weissach a montré un défaut de fabrication. »

2014 Bonneville Speed Trials

Written by Pierre Robichaud.
Bonneville. It conjures up many a mental image. To the average Joe, it means that motorcycle movie with the guy who played Hannibal Lecter… if it registers at all. And to most of us, it refers to a legendary bike and a popular Utah destination toward the top of our bucket list. But to an increasingly rare breed, its true meaning can only understood by actually experiencing it.

Prior to going to the Bonneville Speed Trials, formerly BUB, my perception was that it was ruled by motorcycle companies and rich people there to break records. But to my surprise, there were many individual racers there just to run. They were without support, sponsors or any real help at all. They had come from all over the world with beautiful bikes: crusty, rusty, bone stock and polished show bikes alike.

There also seemed to be a small but dedicated group of younger men and, somewhat surprisingly, women racers ready to carry the torch forward. Small shops like Super Rat and Sodium Distortion were making a buzz with sick bikes and movies about their pursuit of land speed records. Someone said it was like a family reunion – one that you actually wanted to attend. But, early on in the week it didn’t look like it would happen at all.

The day before the event, at the edge of the salt, gray skies poured rain. It was a lake for almost as far as you could see. Tons of salt had been dumped at the end of the road to try to create a bridge to the other side, but its construction couldn’t outpace the rain. Speed Week had been cancelled several weeks before. And at the last minute, too. But there were assurances that our track had been shifted onto dry salt and you just had to get out to it. But you would need to make the slow trek to and from the pits every day through water 6-8 inches deep.

The weather at Bonneville is always capricious and this year even more so. This can make racing difficult, as a densely clouded sky would crack open spilling out sunshine and then minutes later, it would be swallowed up again only to be replaced by gusting wind. It could be blowing at 17mph past the start while 3 miles down at the end of the track, it would be a lowly 4mph. Sometimes you may wait minutes or even hours for the right conditions. But, it’s in spite of, or because of these experiences that Bonneville has its allure.


As we waited, I overheard a guy say to a group huddled around a bike called ‘Salt Shaker’ that the salt gets into everything, even the oil. He wasn’t lying; you taste it on your lips and it seems to permeate everything. Obviously, it finds its way into your veins too, as these salt junkies are lured back year after year. I’d bargain that once you have a taste of salt, the experience will give new meaning to Bonneville and that is what it is to be a Salt Flat racer.


[Photos by Pierre Robichaud, AMA and Bonneville Speed Trials]

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WRC : The 2015 Hyundai is running

La Hyundai WRC spec. 2015 a effectué ses premiers tours de roue le mois dernier. Cette nouvelle voiture devrait débuter en compétition au cours de la saison mondiale 2015

Il y a deux ans, à l’occasion du Salon Automobile de Paris 2012, Hyundai annonçait son retour en Championnat du monde des Rallyes FIA et présentait une maquette de la Hyundai i20 WRC. Deux ans plus tard, la marque coréenne a remporté son premier succès mondial au Rallye Deutschland et a testé pour la première fois la version 2015 basée sur l’i20 New Generation (3^e génération).

Ce premier roulage s’est déroulé dans le plus grand secret en Allemagne le mois dernier avec le pilote d’essais Hyundai Motorsport Bryan Bouffier. L’objectif était decheckertous les systèmes et de récolter les premiers datas pour le développement futur.

Comme nous l’avait précisé Michel Nandan il y a quelques mois, la Hyundai spec. 2015 sera nouvelle à 90%. « La plateforme est différente, elle est plus longue, plus basse et plus large que la version 2014. Le moteur est différent, tout comme la transmission et une multitude d’autres composants. »

« Nous travaillons sur ce nouveau modèle depuis quelques mois déjà et ce premier roulage fut un moment important. Un long travail de développement nous attend désormais dans les prochains mois », a expliqué le patron de Hyundai Motorsport.

L’équipe coréenne ne veut pas précipiter son lancement. Elle succèdera à la version actuelle au cours de la saison 2015.

fumée