WSBK : Randy de Puniet rejoint Crescent Suzuki en World Superbike pour 2015 / Randy de Puniet joins Crescent Suzuki World Superbike for 2015

Le Français fera ses débuts en WSBK avec le team anglais.

Crescent Suzuki a le plaisir d'annoncer l'arrivée de Randy de Puniet, pilote d'essais de Suzuki en MotoGP™, aux côtés d'Alex Lowes pour la saison 2015 du Championnat du Monde FIM Superbike.

Au long de ses quinze années passées en Grand Prix, De Puniet a participé à 139 courses MotoGP et remporté cinq victoires en 250cc. En 2014, le Français a joué un rôle majeur dans le développement de la toute nouvelle GSX-RR, avec laquelle Suzuki fera son retour en GP l'an prochain.

A 33 ans, De Puniet s'apprête maintenant à faire ses débuts en World Superbike avec Crescent Suzuki mais continuera sa mission de pilote d'essais avec Suzuki, avec la responsabilité d'adapter le nouveau prototype MotoGP aux nouveaux pneus qui arriveront en 2016. De Puniet est déjà impatient de reprendre la compétition avec la GSX-R1000 WSBK après avoir obtenu la seconde place aux 8 Heures de Suzuka cette année, avec le team Yoshimura.

Le team Voltcom Crescent Suzuki participera à la dernière manche de la saison 2014 avec Eugene Laverty et Alex Lowes le 2 novembre, au Circuit International de Losail, au Qatar, avant de commencer un programme intensif d'essais hivernaux avec De Puniet et Lowes.

Randy de Puniet : « Je suis très heureux de rejoindre Crescent Suzuki dans le Championnat du Monde Superbike parce que mon objectif pour 2015 était de reprendre la compétition. J'ai apprécié mon travail de pilote d'essais cette année mais je veux vraiment courir ! Je me suis fait plaisir à Suzuka cette année. Courir, me battre et monter sur le podium est vraiment ce à quoi j'aspire. J'ai eu l'opportunité de rejoindre le team Crescent pour l'année prochaine et j'en suis très heureux. Ma priorité était de rester chez Suzuki parce que je voulais rester au sein de la famille. Tout sera différent dans ce nouveau challenge, c'est un nouveau championnat, une nouvelle moto et un nouveau team, je vais avoir beaucoup de choses à apprendre mais je suis prêt et je suis confiant. Je vais rejoindre un team de haut niveau, très expérimenté, et je pense que la moto sera compétitive l'an prochain. Nous avons un bon programme d'essais pour cet hiver et je pense que nous serons prêts pour la première course l'an prochain à Phillip Island. »

Paul Denning – Team Manager : « Nous sommes absolument ravis d'être parvenus à un accord avec Randy pour qu'il coure dans le Championnat du Monde Superbike sur notre GSX-R1000 en 2015. Nous avions besoin d'un pilote de haut niveau pour remplacer Eugene, Randy était le choix évident et nous sommes très fiers d'avoir gagné sa confiance et son engagement auprès de nous pour l'an prochain. »

« Il a impressionné Suzuki cette année grâce à son travail en tant que pilote d'essais pour la GSX-RR de Grand Prix mais il a aussi un excellent palmarès et il a clairement le potentiel de réussir en Superbike. Il ne s'agit pas d'un accord commercial, notre principale motivation est de courir ! Une fois qu'il se sera adapté à la GSX-R1000 et aux pneus Pirelli, je ne vois aucune raison pour qu'il ne soit pas parmi les leaders. Sa relation avec Suzuki peut aussi être positive pour le projet World Superbike, toute l'équipe est très enthousiaste à l'idée de commencer à travailler avec lui et nous espérons convertir le potentiel de 2014 en de très bons résultats avec nos deux pilotes l'an prochain. »

The Frenchman to make his WSBK debut with the English team.

 

Crescent Suzuki is delighted to announce its completed rider line-up for the 2015 FIM Superbike World Championship as world-renowned competitor and current Suzuki MotoGP™ test rider Randy de Puniet joins the UK-based team alongside Alex Lowes.

A long-standing racer in Grand Prix, de Puniet has amassed 139 MotoGP race starts and five 250cc GP race wins during his 15 years on the world stage so far. During 2014, he has become instrumental to the development of Suzuki’s 2015 return to GP competition with the all-new GSX-RR.

The 33-year-old Frenchman will enter the World Superbike series full-time with his new Crescent Suzuki squad for the 2015 season but will also continue to test the Suzuki GP machine, with particular responsibility for matching the bike’s performance to MotoGP’s new 2016 tyre provider. De Puniet is very motivated for competitive action aboard the World Superbike specification GSX-R1000, after his successful second-place result as part of the Yoshimura team in the 2014 Suzuka 8 hour endurance race.  

Voltcom Crescent Suzuki will complete its last race of the 2014 season with current riders Eugene Laverty and Alex Lowes at the Losail International Circuit, in Qatar, on November 2nd, before beginning an extensive winter of testing and development with de Puniet and Lowes.

Randy de Puniet: “I’m so happy to be joining Crescent Suzuki for the Superbike World Championship because my target for 2015 was to get back to competing on the race track. Testing for the past year was ok but of course what I really want is to race! I really enjoyed racing in Suzuka this year - to race, to fight and to be on the podium is everything to me. I had the opportunity to join the Crescent team for next year and I’m really happy; my first priority was to stay with Suzuki because I want to stay within this family, and for me this is a new challenge – a new championship, new bike, new tyre, everything is different and I have many things to learn but I am ready for that and I’m very confident. I will be joining a very strong team with a lot of experience and I think the bike will be good next year. We have a good test plan for this winter and I think we will be ready for the first race in Phillip Island next year.”

Paul Denning – Team Manager: “We couldn’t be happier to have secured Randy’s agreement to compete in the 2015 World Superbike Championship on board our GSX-R1000. We needed a high quality rider to replace Eugene; Randy was the obvious choice, and we are very proud to have gained his trust and commitment to race with us next year.

“He has impressed Suzuki this year with his hard work and feedback as test rider on the Grand Prix GSX-RR, but Randy’s racing pedigree is also beyond doubt and his potential to succeed on the Superbike is clear. This is not a commercially driven deal – the primary motivation is simply to race! After an acclimatisation period to learn the GSX-R1000 and the Pirelli tyres, I see no reason why he won’t be an absolute front runner. Randy’s close working relationship with the Suzuki Factory can also only be positive for the World Superbike project, and the whole team is very excited about getting down to work, and turning 2014’s potential into solid results for both riders next season.”

WTCC : Citroën savoure son premier titre en WTCC / Celebrating Citroën’s triumph in WTCC

Pour reprendre la célèbre expression de Jules César lorsqu’il remporta la bataille de Zela, la campagne de Citroën en WTCC pourrait se résumer à « Veni, vidi, vici » (Je suis venu, j’ai vu, j’ai vaincu).

Mais la réalité est différente, car remporter le titre Constructeurs et assurer le titre Pilotes dès sa première saison n’a rien de commun.

Après avoir accroché 16 titres en FIA WRC (9 Pilotes et 7 Constructeurs), il n’y avait aucun doute sur les capacités de Citroën d’être performant. Peu de marques parvinrent cependant à s’imposer d’entrée dans la foulée d’un changement total d’orientation dans une catégorie radicalement opposée.

Les débuts de Citroën en FIA WTCC ont été remarquables. Ainsi l’ont affirmé plusieurs observateurs, à qui nous avons demandé quels étaient pour eux les ingrédients qui ont fait le succès du constructeur français.

Gabriele Tarquini, Champion WTCC 2009 : « Citroën a produit un boulot fantastique. Ils ont prouvé pouvoir relever le challenge grâce à de bonnes ressources, du bon personnel dans l’équipe et les bons pilotes. Même s’ils ont débuté plus tôt que les autres le développement de leur nouvelle TC1, leur succès est mérité. Ils ne se sont pas contentés de reproduire les standards du WTCC. Grâce à leur expérience passée en WRC, ils ont adopté leur approche et appliqué leurs méthodes de travail. Ils ont mis la barre très haut et c’est maintenant aux autres de se cracher dans les mains pour réduire l’écart. »

Rob Huff, Champion WTCC 2012 : « Ce que Citroën a réalisé pour sa première saison en WTCC, sans la moindre expérience des courses de Tourisme, est tout simplement impressionnant. Ils se sont parfaitement préparés, ne sont pas venus pour terminer deuxième, et ont mis la barre très haut. Cela s’observe dans la pit-lane, lorsque l’on voit l’attention et la concentration de toutes les personnes impliquées dans l’équipe. Je ne suis pas surpris, car tout ce qu’ils ont entrepris depuis quinze ans en sport automobile l’a toujours été avec le plus grand sérieux et selon des standards très élevés. »

Stuart Cowie, RML : « Certains pourraient prétendre que le succès de Citroën réside dans ses ressources, mais ce serait un raccourci trop simple. L’argent n’achète pas tout, et certainement pas la compétence, le professionnalisme et le leadership. Ils ont tout cela, et ont prouvé savoir opérer dans les domaines qu’ils souhaitaient. Je ne pense pas que le manque d’expérience d’une discipline soit un véritable problème en sport automobile. Peu importe que vous proveniez de la F1, du WRC ou du WTCC. Le plus important est d’avoir les bonnes personnes, les bons objectifs et le bon esprit pour gagner. C’est ce que Citroën a réalisé à une vitesse impressionnante et c’est une très bonne chose pour le championnat. Comme Chevrolet l’a fait récemment et les autres constructeurs auparavant, Citroën a élevé le niveau du championnat et cela lui est profitable. Il devrait en être ainsi dans toutes les séries portant le label de Championnat du Monde FIA. » 

Jerôme Bourret, journaliste à L’Equipe : « J’ai vu Citroën évoluer en WRC pendant de nombreuses années et j’ai observé cette année la même approche et la même qualité appliquées au WTCC. Deux choses me frappent. D’abord, cette équipe synthétise parfaitement les points de vue des personnes d’expérience et des plus jeunes. C’est l’une des spécificités et des forces de Citroën. L’autre facette, ensuite, c’est l’humilité. Le team agit toujours comme si elle repartait de zéro, prête attention au moindre détail car rien n’est jamais laissé au hasard, et remet toujours en question ses décisions. La réaction des membres de l’équipe à Marrakech fut intéressante, car il s’agissait de leur toute première course en WTCC, dans en environnement on ne peut pus inhabituel qu’un circuit urbain. Malgré leur expérience, l’anxiété se lisait sur leur visage. Pour eux, rien n’est jamais acquis. »

At a first glance it may looks as a ‘Veni, vidi, vici’ (I came, I saw, I won), to quote Julius Ceasar’s famous words when he won the battle of Zela, but reality is different.

What Citroën did, claiming the Manufacturers’ Championship and ‘booking’ the Drivers’ one on their maiden WTCC season, is certainly not common.
There were little doubts that the French car maker would do well, after winning sixteen FIA WRC titles (nine for Drivers and seven for Manufacturers). Still, changing motorsport discipline and winning straight away in a completely different category remains a very unusual achievement that very few manufacturers can claim.  
Citroën’s debut in the FIA WTCC has been outstanding, as emphasized by some insiders’ comments, to whom we asked to give their expert perspective on the reasons behind the success of the French constructor.

Gabriele Tarquini, 2009 WTCC champion: ”Citroën has done an excellent job. They proved that they faced this new challenge with the right resources, the right team members and the right drivers. While it is sure they started earlier than the competition with the new TC1 challenge, their achievement has a lot of merit. They didn’t simply looked at the WTCC standards as they were, but they took the approach of doing things as they thought they should be done, based on their experience and knowledge in the WRC. In doing so, they raised the bar and is now up to all the others to close the gap.” 

Rob Huff, 2012 WTCC champion: “What Citroën has achieved in their first season in the WTCC, without any experience in touring cars, is simply impressive. They prepared well and did not come to be second, but they also raised the championship level to new heights. It shows even in the pitlane, when you see the level of attention and concentration everybody in the team has in his and her face. I am not surprised, as everything they have done in motorsports in the last fifteen years or so has been to the highest standards.” 

Stuart Cowie, RML: “One could say that Citroën’s success is the result of investments and resources, but that would be too easy. Money cannot buy everything and certainly not competence, professionalism and leadership. They have all that, and they proved how well they operate to be where they wanted to be. I don’t think that lack of specific experience in a category is an issue in motorsports. It doesn’t matter where you come from, F1, WRC or WTCC, the important is to have good people, the right focus and a mind set to succeed. That’s what Citroën has done, shortening much the learning curve, and this is certainly good for the Championship. Like it happened before with Chevrolet and other manufacturers, they have put the bar higher and brought the WTCC forward, and that’s what should happen in any series that has an FIA World Championship label on it.” 

Jerôme Bourret, journalist at L’Equipe: “I have seen Citroën operating in WRC for many years and I saw the same approach and qualities applied to the WTCC. Two things always struck me. First, it is a team where there is a perfect mix of older, experienced people and younger ones, bringing new ideas. Everything is always openly discussed, and everyone can contribute, then a synthesis is made. That is definitely one of Citroën’s specificities and strengths. The other is humility, they always do things like if they were starting from scratch, taking care of every detail, never leaving something to chance and always questioning choices. It was very interesting to see how team members behaved at Marrakech, for their first-ever WTCC race, in an unusual environment like a street circuit. Despite the experience and all that, you could see anxiety and concern in everyone’s face. These guys never take anything for granted.”

PANCAKE CUSTOMS HARD TAIL

Whatever your line of work or hobby may be, the hardest thing to do is continually improve, to develop, to always better what you have previously done. Boy Janssen from Amsterdam chose to embark on a new career, hobby and lifestyle all at once when he built himself a motorcycle in his living room before he had even taken his test. Next he built a Honda CB750 from a donor that arrived in his newly acquired workshop in cardboard boxes. This beautiful XS650 bobber is his third build, it attests that Boy is a man who has mastered the art of never resting on his laurels.

From the early days of his lounge based wrenching Boy branded his bike building enterprise as Pancake Customs, since then he has taken his skills and his company a long way, culminating in this bike and its appearance at MotoKouture’s Belgium based Cosmic Nozems motorcycle show. Boy wanted to modify a Yamaha XS650 after being a long time admirer of its beauteous engine, he wanted a hard tail and he knew exactly how it should look.

“Most hardtail XS650 choppers and bobbers use the same wheelbase and that’s something I don’t really like. It makes the bike look too short and high for my liking.” 

The neglected project that Boy purchased as a donor had already received the hard tail treatment but it was of the short variety that he deplored, so out came the grinder.

“I got my buddy at Tincan Customs to weld on another hard tail, one that’s a little bit longer than usual.”

 That stretched tail is core to the bikes image, Boy wanted it long and low,

“Inspired by the salt flat racers, but for city use.”

With the frame complete the plan for the rest of the bike was to keep it minimalist, as clean and simple as possible, to showcase that engine and hard won stance. The rear wheel is the stock 18′ rim but at the front a 21″ wheel from an old DR350 was fitted, both are shod with Avon rubber. The forks are from a more recent XS650, they were rebuilt, shaved and lowered by 3″.

The engine top end was rebuilt along with the carbs before a permanent magnet alternator was installed along with solid state ignition. It now runs without a battery and can only be kicked into life. Any remaining “essential electrical spaghetti” was housed in the bespoke leather box that sits behind the engine. That nifty box, complete with buckles and lightening shaped cut outs, was crafted by Silvermachine,  it also caters for a chain tensioner, essential for such a long set of links.

The small peanut tank features a deep tunnel to maintain the machines low profile, it is finished to match the rear fender in glorious bare metal. That mudguard is Boy’s favourite part of the bike, he found it at a swap meet and it fit the build perfectly, he fabricated the elegantly curved stays to hold it in place. A simple black sprung saddle and minimal lighting complete the bike.

In true Bobber style this bike is as much about what is not there, as what is, and is all the more glorious for it. Next in Boy’s workshop is a commissioned CB750F, clearly his developing builds are catching customers eyes as well. We look forward to seeing that next machine and adding it to Boy’s ever improving Pancake Customs Bikeshed page.

via the bike shed

BMW R45 BY CYTECH

The BMW R45 has never really enjoyed the icon status of its larger stablemates, the smaller engine (473cc) and lower power output (35hp) does have one significant advantage over the larger bikes from BMW – fuel economy. I’ve heard R45 owners wax lyrical about this subject for years have I’ve encountered claims of 55mpg right the way up to over 70, although I suspect the truth may lie half way between these two claims.

When it comes to long range, off-road touring, two things sit at the top of the priorities pile: fuel economy and reliability. Especially when you’re in Africa and the nearest gas station may very well be a solid days ride away, through some of the most inhospitable terrain on the planet.

These two factors were what drove Donovan Muller of Cytech to choose a BMW R45 for this particular project. Cytech was founded 38 years ago by Donovan’s father and they’ve been running African motorcycle tours since before many of us were born, the company also has a division that takes the expertise acquired during these tours and applies them to a function-first custom motorcycles garage based in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The R45 you see here was built by Donovan to meet the challenges presented by long range tours in sub-Saharan Africa – many of which run to 2000 kilometres in a single day.

After finding a suitable R45 Donovan set to work disassembling it and preparing the parts that were staying – the wheels were powder coated, the forks were rebuilt using Progressive springs, a PIAA spotlight was bolted into place and a Motogadget speedometer replaced the stock unit. When rebuilding the engine he decided to bore it out to 650cc to increase power, there’s always a trade-off between fuel economy and performance and Donovan felt that this was a best-of-both-worlds option that’d result in a bike perfect for the unique challenges it’s going to face in the coming months, years and decades.

A new brake disc was bolted into place with a matching Brembo calliper and a set of sintered brake pads, a Renthal handlebar was then added and the original handlebar controls were moved over. A pair of ceramic-coated Supertrapp pipes replaced the original units and both the frame and subframe were powder coated for longevity.

The completed bike is a testament to function-first engineering and it’s doubtless being ridden now across stunning landscapes by people who go on much more exciting holidays than me. If you’d like to see more work by Donovan and his family owned company, you can click here.

via SILODROME

Honda XRE300 by Shibuya Garage

Written by Ian Lee.

The Honda XRE300 is a dual sport bike manufactured for the South American market. Honda called it “aggressive looking” but in reality it is one fugly machine – with a pointy plastic nose that looks like a large bird beak. The XRE was the donor given to the team at Shibuya Garage in São Paolo to create a stripped back, brat style bike. Owner and designer of Shibuya, Teydi Deguchi, took the brief and got to work transforming this ugly duckling. The goal was to build a bike with a lightweight aesthetic and pure brat style look, which would be perfect for cruising the busy streets on those warm Brazilian nights.

The bike’s factory rims are gone, the XRE now sports the brat obligatory Firestones, wrapped around DID rims. The inspiration for the rolling stock being from Teydi’s idea that the bike should be influenced by the Japanese underground. The front fender has been swapped out in the pursuit of minimalism, and the front forks filled with Brembo fluid. Ride height has been modified to that of brat style, and to allow for the change in rim size from the factory setup.

It was decided during the build to fit a Motogadget, the Shibuya crew having to suss out how to hook up the German instrument setup to the Honda. This was achieved, with the bike retaining it’s original sensor pick up, as well as the factory Nissin brakes. The incredibly pointy factory fitted guard and headlight have been ditched, in it’s place a 5 3/4 headlight along with some unique turn signals.

The lines of the bike have been modified during the build as well. The fuel tank is a custom unit created for this build, finished in cream scalloping with gold leaf pinstriping. The whole back end of the frame has been changed to suit the aesthetic of the build, with Shibuya creating the neat look by containing all the wiring and control units in a specially made box mounted under the seat.

The exhaust system is a work of art in itself. The original engine hugging exhaust styling has been kept, with the piping running through inside of the frame. Totally handmade by Shibuya, the system now features a Dunstall style silencer, incorporating bracketry to mount it up to the frame. The piping is finished in matte chrome, a touch used often in the 70s on cafe racers, but not seen as often today.

With an excellent build team headed by a leader who knows his stuff, this bike has been changed from ‘dual sport’ to ‘brat sport’. Keeping the reliability of the bike it was built from, but building brat style into the machine, has given it’s new owner a reason to be proud. It’s safe to say, there’s not many XRE’s roaming the streets of Brazil that look like this.

via PIPEBURN

Oscaro Tour de Corse Historique 2014 - 5ème et dernière étape

Finish époustouflant pour ce 14ème Oscaro Tour de Corse Historique. Au départ de l'ultime étape, trois équipages étaient regroupés en moins d'une minute pour prétendre à la victoire finale.
5ème étape : Ile-Rousse - Solenzara - Porto-Vecchio

Les nouveaux records de Márquez en 2014 / Key statistics on Marquez’s 2014 MotoGP™ World Championship win

Marc Márquez a établi de nouveaux records en remportant le Championnat du Monde MotoGP™ 2014 au Grand Prix Motul du Japon

- À 21 ans et 237 jours, Márquez est le plus jeune pilote à remporter deux titres consécutifs dans la catégorie reine et prend ce record à Mike Hailwood (1963 - 23 ans et 152 jours).

- Il est le premier Espagnol à remporter deux titres consécutifs dans la catégorie reine des Grands Prix.

- Márquez est devenu cette année le premier pilote à remporter les dix premières manches d’une saison de la catégorie reine depuis Giacomo Agostini en 1970.

- Avec dix victoires consécutives, Márquez détient le record de la plus longue série de victoires pour la catégorie MotoGP™.

- Il est aussi le plus jeune pilote à remporter dix victoires consécutives dans la catégorie reine et a établi le nouveau record à 21 ans et 174 jours, contre 24 ans et 94 jours pour Mike Hailwood en 1964 (sur une série de douze victoires).

- Márquez est le premier pilote Honda à remporter un titre mondial au Twin Ring Motegi, un circuit qui appartient à Honda.

- A trois courses de la fin de la saison 2014, Márquez est déjà monté sur la plus haute marche du podium onze fois cette année, soit aussi bien que Valentino Rossi en 2002 et 2005. Il s’agit du record absolu dans la catégorie MotoGP™.

By winning the 2014 MotoGP™ title on Sunday at the Motul Grand Prix of Japan Marc Marquez set several new records. Here is a list of those records and some additional milestones achieved by the Repsol Honda star this year.

- Marquez is the youngest ever rider to win two consecutive premier class World Championships at the age of 21 years 237 days, taking the record from Mike Hailwood who was 23 years 152 days when he won his second successive 500cc title in 1963.

- He is the first Spanish rider to win back-to-back world titles in the premier class of Grand Prix racing.

- During 2014 Marquez became the first rider since Giacomo Agostini in 1970 to win the opening 10 premier class GP races of the season

- The 10 successive wins by Marquez in 2014 is a new record for most successive wins in the MotoGP class.

- In 2014 he also became the youngest rider to win 10 successive premier class GP races, at the age of 21 years 174 days, taking the record from Mike Hailwood who was 24 years 94 days old when in 1964 he won the tenth of a twelve race winning sequence.

- Marquez is the first Honda rider to clinch a world title at the Motegi circuit, which is owned by Honda.

- With three races remaining in 2014, Marquez has already stood on the top step of the podium 11 times during the year, equalling the record for most MotoGP victories in a single season that was achieved by Valentino Rossi in both the 2002 and 2005 seasons.

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