Motorcycle Adventure - Himalayas, China

Rallye Dakar : Mini, Peugeot, Toyota…

Invaincues depuis trois ans au Dakar, les Mini ALL4 Racing/Michelin du team X-Raid vont affronter les Toyota Hilux, Buggies, Hummer, et les nouvelles Peugeot 2008 DKR sur une boucle de 9000 km autour de Buenos Aires. Départ le 4 janvier…

Les Peugeot 2008 DKR seront inévitablement l’attraction de cette 36^e édition du Rallye Dakar, la 7^e en Amérique du Sud (Argentine, Chili, Bolivie). Les Peugeot se sont envolées pour Buenos Aires mi-décembre, après une ultime séance d’essais plutôt positive. 25 ans après sa dernière victoire (Peugeot 405 T16, Vatanen/Berglund), Peugeot est de retour au Dakar avec un tout nouveau prototype T1 2-roues motrices équipé d’un V6 diesel 3.0 litres bi-turbo développant 340 chevaux. Pour ce come-back, Peugeot a recruté du très lourd : Stéphane Peterhansel, 11 victoires au Dakar, Carlos Sainz, 7 participations et 1 victoire, et Cyril Despres, 5 succès à moto, trois pilotes qui connaissent parfaitement les pistes sud-américaines.

Les Mini ALL4 Racing (4-roues motrices, V6 diesel 3.0 litres bi-turbo, 320 chevaux) seront présentes en nombre pour tenter de décrocher un 4^e succès consécutif au Dakar et se rapprocher du record de Mitsubishi avec 6 victoires d’affilée. L’équipe X-Raid pourra compter sur des machines fiables, sur l’expérience de deux anciens vainqueurs, Nani Roma et Nasser Al-Attiyah, et la fougue d’Orlando Terranova.

Les Toyota Hilux (4-roues motrices, V8 essence 5.0 litres, 350 chevaux), désormais fiabilisés, seront également en force aux mains de pilotes d’expérience comme Giniel de Villiers, Lucio Alvarez, Christian Lavieille et Bernard Ten Brinke. La Saoudien Yazeed Al-Rahji va découvrir le Dakar sur un prototype Toyota Hilux.

Après une édition difficile l’an passé, les Ford Ranger semi-officiels ne seront plus représentés que par l’Argentin Federico Villagra. Le constructeur chinois Great Wall n’est plus présent sur le Dakar. Le Portugais Carlos Sousa a trouvé refuge dans l’équipe brésilienne Mitsubishi Petrobras aux côtés de Guiherme Spinelli, sur un puissant proto Mitsubishi ASX Racing (V8 essence, 4.7 litres Aston Martin).

Parmi les outsiders, on peut également citer Guerlain Chicherit, engagé sur un Buggy (l’ancien Buggy Red-Bull) reconditionné et préparé par l’équipe X-Raid. Le patron de SMG, Philippe Gache, sera au volant d’un de ses Buggies, alors que l’Américain Robby Gordon remet le couvert sur son monstrueux Hummer. Thierry Magnaldi est attendu sur un Buggy Dessoude. Parmi la nuée de Buggies engagés par l’équipe MD Rallye, on trouve le vainqueur des 24 Heures du Mans 2010 et de la course-de-côte de Pikes Peak 2014 Romain Dumas qui va découvrir le Dakar.

Au programme de cette édition 2015, 13 étapes, dont une « marathon » entre le Chili et la Bolivie. Après une 1^ère spéciale de 175 km pour se mettre en jambe, la spéciale n°2 est la plus longue du rallye (518 km) entre San Juan et Chilecito. Suivront des étapes de sable et de dunes avec l’entrée au Chili, dans le désert d’Atacama, avant la journée de repos à Iquique. Ensuite, ce sera de nouveau du sable jusqu’à Calama avant de boucler la boucle sur des pistes rapides et techniques jusqu’à Buenos Aires.

After going unbeaten on the Dakar for three years, X-Raid’s Michelin-equipped Mini ALL4 Racings face opposition from an armada of Toyota Hiluxes, buggies, a Hummer and the new Peugeots during the 2015 event’s 9,000km loop through Argentina, Chile and Bolivia, beginning in Buenos Aires on January 4.

Inevitably, the new Peugeots 2008 DKRs will be the chief attraction of the seventh Dakar to take place in South America. The French cars were flown out to Buenos Aires before Christmas after one last test which appears to have gone very well.

Twenty-five years after the victory of the Peugeot 405 T16 (Vatanen/Berglund), Peugeot returns to the event with a brand new two-wheel drive T1 prototype powered by a three-litre, 340hp, bi-turbo V6 diesel engine.

To mark its comeback, the team has recruited three big names: 11-time winner Stéphane Peterhansel, one-time victor Carlos Sainz and Cyril Despres who has won five times on two wheels. All three have good knowledge of the South American terrain.

There will also be a strong contingent of Minis (four-wheel drive, three-litres, bi-turbo, 320hp, V6, diesel) looking to claim a fourth straight win and get closer to Mitsubishi’s record of six consecutive triumphs. Behind the wheel of the reliable machines will be former winners Nani Roma and Nasser Al-Attiyah, plus the flamboyant Orlando Terranova.

The Toyota Hiluxes (four-wheel drive, five-litres, 350hp, V8, petrol) are now reliable and promise to be competitive in the hands of experienced drivers like Giniel de Villiers, Lucio Alvarez, Christian Lavieille, Bernard Ten Brinke and Saudi rookie Yazeed Al-Rahji.

After a tough debut appearance in 2014, there will only be one semi-factory Ford Ranger this time for Argentina’s Federico Villagra.

The Chinese make Great Wall will not be present, so Portugal’s Carlos Sousa has found refuge at Mitsubishi Petrobras alongside Guiherme Spinelli in the powerful Mitsubishi ASX Racing prototype (V8, petrol, 4.7-litre Aston Martin engine).

The main outsiders include X-Raid’s Guerlain Chicherit in an ex-Red Bull buggy, SMG boss Philippe Gache in one of his own buggies, the USA’s Robby Gordon who is back in his monstrous Hummer and Thierry Magnaldi (Dessoude buggy). Among the fleet of MD Rallye-tended buggies will be one for Dakar debutant Romain Dumas, a former Le Mans (2010) and Pikes Peak (2014) winner.

The 2015 rally features 13 days of competition, including a marathon leg straddling Chile and Bolivia. The opening 175km appetiser will be followed by the event’s longest test (518km) between San Juan and Chilecito. The menu will then switch to sand and dunes in Chile’s Atacama Desert before the rest day in Iquique. After that, there will be more sand to Calama before the fast but technically challenging final sprint back to Buenos Aires.

I Will Ride It

An upcoming collaboration project between Thrive Motorcycle, Lawless Jakarta, and Altos Company, a custom culture shops and workshops based in Kemang, South Jakarta, Indonesia.

This is our thoughts and feelings that we want to share with you. Hope you had your own connections with your motorcycle while you are having your own ride.

I Will Ride It from Thrive Motorcycle on Vimeo.

GLINDING KUSTOM

FORD MUSTANG BOSS 302 TRANS AM

The 1970 Ford Mustang Boss 302 Trans Ams built by Bud Moore occupy a special place in the hearts of the Mustang-faithful – it was to be the year that the Boss 302s would win the SCCA Trans-Am championship, finally beating out the the Camaros, Barracudas, Firebirds, and Javelins.

Much of the success enjoyed by the Boss 302 Mustangs was due to the fire-breathing 460hp 302 cubic inch V8 – each engine was fitted with a Holley four-barrel carburettor and power was fed to the rear wheels via a four-speed transmission and live axle. The Boss 302 rode on independent front suspension, lower transverse arms with drag struts, coil springs, tube shock absorbers, an anti-roll bar and multi-leaf springs at the rear.

After taking the outright championship win in 1970 the Ford Motor Company decided to pull out of Trans Am racing – a move that was deeply frustrating to Bud Moore and the legions of fans the company had won over since the introduction of the Mustang in 1964.

Rather than roll down the shutters Bud Moore Engineering decided to run a shortened season for 1971 using two of the four Boss 302 Mustangs that had already been provided.

The lack of factory support and resulting lower budget combined with the loss of driving talent led to the AMC Javelins winning the 1971 season, a dark day for the Mustang clan after such jubilation just a year before.

The 1970 Mustang Boss 302 you see here is one of the cars that was delivered to Moore that he didn’t end up preparing for the 1971 season. It was kept in private collections as a bit of a historical curiosity until it was unearthed in 2008 and bought by the current owner, plans were immediately put into place to finish the car to the specifications originally intended for it.

Bud and Greg Moore were contacted and they agreed to oversee the project to finish their last Boss 302 to 1971 specification, the project took five years to reach accurate 1971-specification BME 4 form, the upgrades included the installation of Bud’s engineered heads for the engine.

Once the build was complete Moore approved car and issued a certificate of authenticity – making this the newest and cleanest Bud Moore Boss 302 in the world. If you’d like to read more about the history of this car you can click here to visit its listing courtesy of RM Auctions, where it’ll be auctioned on the 15th of January 2015.

Photo Credits: Patrick Ernzen ©2015 Courtesy of RM Auctions

via SILODROME

BMW 2002ti Rally: Whiplash mountain

Rain, nothing but rain. Why must the heavenly floodgates open on the January weekend of the Planai Classic?

Every year, this rally season-opener attracts participants with promises of wild rides on snowy mountain roads and icy mountain passes but, when the rain comes, the conditions degenerate into a hydroplaning ballet. My mount is the BMW 2002ti rally car and it has far more relevant rallying experience than I do. Built in 1969, the ‘little’ car was successfully launched into the Group 2 class of the World Rally Championship and, with its 4-cylinder in-line Alpina engine, was driven in the 1970/71 rally seasons by no less than Rauno Aaltonen and Sobieslaw Zasada – who won the 1971 Polish Rally with this car. The impressive output of 190HP and weight of just 1,040kg means lots of drifting fun; but without snow, there’s only half the pleasure.

As the rally starts, in Gröbming, the water falls only in a liquid state from the sky but, by the end of the first day’s competition, there’s a slippery mix of snow and ice to contend with. Steep curves see me babbling with unintelligible excitement into the microphone, drawing a distraught look from my team-mate Florian. Fortunately, his stare is quickly interrupted by the start of the night stage.

 

As I drift around the tight turns on the long route to the Dachstein, the snow-covered road lit only by the wide arc from our headlamps, I'm reminded of the ‘Night of Long Knives’, the famous night stage of the Monte Carlo Rally. The studded tyres make loud scratching noises as they cling to the road surface and we dart left-right, in second gear, through the bends. My head aches – and my back too, as the bucket seat is not entirely comfortable – but a high dose of adrenalin ensures rapid healing.

 

The experience is immensely good fun but I did become very aware of my limitations as a driver. The Planai Classic is no tourist’s cruise… although, fortunately, the 45 starting teams had enough rally experience on snow and ice that – despite the demands of the night-time special stages – there were no accidents. However, in preparation for next winter, I’ve already signed up for winter rally-driver training with Rally-Professor Rauno Aaltonen in Finland.

 

Related Links Whether classic cars, rally or sports versions, there are plenty of BMW 2002s in the Classic Driver Marketplace For more information on the Planai and Ennstal Classics, see www.planai-classic.at and www.ennstal-classic.at/de/

Text: J. Philip Rathgen
Photos: Gudrun Muschalla

The Little Nordics - Life in miniature

There are numerous time lapse videos of Iceland and Norway showing the beauty of their remote landscapes. But when you're in the mountains, looking down, you see so many things happening. Especially in places like Geiranger (Norway) where ferries are sailing back and forth through the fjords, kayak cruises arriving and departing and cars crawling up and down the steep roads. I wanted to portray this like you are watching an ants hill, which gives such a funny perspective on things.

The Little Nordics - Life in miniature from DAMPDESIGN on Vimeo.

Hell on Wheels Calendar 2015

Hell on Wheels Calendar 2015 from larry niehues on Vimeo.

Turboooooooooooo !