WSSP : Cluzel et Sofuoglu survolent les débats en Australie / fastest in WSS so far in Phillip Island

Le Français et le Turc se sont détachés de la concurrence vendredi en Australie.

Vainqueur à Phillip Island l’an dernier, Jules Cluzel (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) a ouvert sa saison 2015 en signant le meilleur temps de la première journée de la manche d’ouverture du Championnat du Monde FIM Supersport. Le Français est passé en tête du classement l'après-midi et reléguait Kenan Sofuoglu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) à la seconde position.

Le Turc, triple Champion du Monde, avait été le pilote le plus rapide le matin mais n'a ensuite pas pu améliorer son chrono lors de la seconde séance et a concédé la première position à Cluzel pour seulement 0.021s d'écart. 

Troisième, Gino Rea (CIA Landlords Insurance Honda) a terminé à 0.424s du temps de référence et plaçait une Honda derrière les MV Agusta et Kawasaki de Cluzel et Sofuoglu dans le Top 3.

Kyle Smith (Pata Honda World Supersport Team), Lucas Mahias (Intermoto Kawasaki Ponyexpres) et Lorenzo Zanetti (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) complétaient quant à eux le Top 6 de la journée, malgré un retard de plus de sept dixièmes de seconde sur le leader.

A plus d'une seconde de Cluzel, Alex Baldolini (Race Department ATK#25) s'est hissé à la septième position en réalisant son meilleur tour en fin de journée et a terminé devant Aiden Wagner (Oz Wildcard Racing), qui était sixième à l'issue de la première séance et a chuté au début de la deuxième.

Les autres Australiens, Glenn Scott (AARK Honda), Alex Phillis (Lorini Honda) et Sam Lambert (Sam Lambert Racing) ont respectivement fini 16e, 20e et 24e.

La troisième séance d'essais aura lieu samedi matin et sera suivi d'une unique séance de qualifications à 15h55, heure locale.

Times are close on day 1 for the World Supersport riders.

The first official day of on track action ahead of the opening round of the World Supersport championship on Sunday has ended with Frenchman Jules Cluzel (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) leading the way on combined times from FP1 and FP2, by a mere 0.021s.

In FP1 Kenan Sofuoglu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) virtually matched the existing race lap record, despite recording only 11 laps, considerably fewer than his nearest rivals.

With track temperature rising when the afternoon session began, the final timed period of the day provided some surprisingly faster laps as several of the leading riders improved. Alex Baldolini (Race Department ATK#25) was the first to do so, the Italian eventually ending the day an encouraging 7th in the standings.

As FP2 ended, last year’s WSS winner Jules Cluzel had overhauled his Turkish rival to top the time sheet as former Moto2 rider Gino Rea (CIA Landlords Insurance Honda) completed the top 3 courtesy of his penultimate lap of the session.

Kyle Smith (Pata Honda World Supersport Team), Lucas Mahias (Intermoto Kawasaki Ponyexpres) and Lorenzo Zanetti (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) rounded out a tightly bunched top 6 in terms of lap times, as 3 manufacturers filled to the top three places.

Aiden Wagner (Oz Wildcard Racing) who was an impressive 6th in FP1, crashed in the early stages of FP2, the local wildcard rider eventually ending the day in 9th.

The remaining local riders Glenn Scott (AARK Honda), Alex Phillis (Lorini Honda), and Sam Lambert (Sam Lambert Racing) were 16th, 20th and 24th respectively.

FP3 will take place tomorrow morning with the one and only timed qualifying session to set the grid for the first race of the World Supersport season, scheduled to take place at 15.55 local time.

Watch Daniel Ricciardo take on the Targa Florio

Is there a cooler athlete on the planet right now than Dan Ricciardo?

In this mega clip Dan Ricciardo is driving the Alfa Romeo T33 that Red Bulls Helmut Marko drove in the 1972 Targa Florio.

Dan loved the big red beast and its lack of driver “aids”. No paddle shift gear changes here, just a clutch pedal and an H-gate. “I’ve only ever used that type of gear shift in Formula Ford,” Ricciardo says, “and I wasn’t all that good at it.”

The Alfa T33 weighs less than 700kg, while generating more than 400bhp and has a chassis that was state-of-the-art in its day. “It does what you expect it to: it’s a proper racing car!”

“I must ask my dad why my grandparents left Sicily,” He pauses to think. “Even if there wasn’t a donkey on the course this time, I now know one thing: I want an historic racing car.”​

WSBK : Le meilleur temps pour Lowes à Phillip Island / Lowes clings to top spot in Phillip Island

Le Britannique conserve l'avantage à l'issue de la seconde séance d'essais.

Alex Lowes (Voltcom Crescent Suzuki) sera l'homme à battre samedi en Tissot-Superpole à Phillip Island suite à ce que le Britannique ait réalisé le meilleur temps des essais libres de vendredi, avec un tour bouclé en 1'30.855 lors de la première des deux séances de la journée.

Le pilote anglais comptait pas moins de 0.359s d'avance sur Jordi Torres (Aprilia Racing Team – Red Devils), deuxième d'un Top 9 qui se tenait en une seconde.

La troisième position a été prise par Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team), qui faisait partie des nombreux pilotes à ne pas avoir pu améliorer leurs chronos l'après-midi en raison de températures bien plus élevées que le matin. Au final, seuls trois pilotes du Top 12 ont pu aller plus vite en FP2 qu'en FP1.

Leon Haslam (Aprilia Racing Team – Red Devils) a fini quatrième devant Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) et Nico Terol (Althea Racing), deuxième rookie, après Torres, dans le classement combiné. 

Michael van der Mark (Pata Honda World Superbike Team), le Champion du Monde Supersport 2014, a terminé septième, devant Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing-Ducati SBK Team), David Salom (Team Pedercini) et Randy de Puniet (Voltcom Crescent Suzuki), dixième à 1.026s de son coéquipier Alex Lowes.

Sylvain Guintoli (Pata Honda World Superbike Team), le Champion en titre, est quant à lui douzième et a réussi à éviter une chute en highside. Le Français s'est classé juste derrière Leon Camier (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) et devant Sylvain Barrier (BMW Motorrad Italia SBK Team), qui est tombé dans le virage n°11 mais a fini treizième. 

Après avoir manqué la première séance d'essais à cause d'un problème technique, Niccolò Canepa (Team Hero EBR) a réussi à faire deux tours rapides mais a lui aussi chuté, dans le virage n°10. L'Italien commence le week-end en 20e position. 

Haslam est le seul autre pilote à être tombé, en perdant l'avant de son Aprilia dans le virage n°10.

Troy Bayliss (Aruba.it Racing-Ducati SBK Team), qui remplace exceptionnellement Davide Giugliano, a conclu sa première journée en WorldSBK depuis 2008 en 18e position. L'Australien a passé beaucoup de temps à travailler sur les réglages de sa Panigale R et a attendu les dernières minutes pour se classer dans le Top 20 et donc provisoirement s'assurer une place pour la première des deux parties de la Tissot-Superpole.

Les wildcards Matt Walters (Team Pedercini) et Jed Metcher (Race Center – Demolition Plus) étaient respectivement 16e et 19e. Christophe Ponsson, qui se prépare pour ses premières courses en WorldSBK, a de son côté fini en vingt-quatrième position.

Suite à une troisième séance d'essais qui aura lieu samedi matin, les vingt premiers pilotes du classement combiné participeront à la Tissot-Superpole, qui conserve le format introduit en 2014. A titre de rappel, les dix pilotes les plus rapides à l'issue des essais libres sont qualifiés d'office pour la seconde partie de la Superpole tandis que les dix classés de la onzième à la vingtième positions participent à la première partie. Les deux pilotes les plus rapides en Superpole 1 accèdent à la Superpole 2, une séance regroupant douze pilotes en lice pour les douze premières positions sur la grille de départ.

Race lap record is broken on opening day of WorldSBK action.

With just one session to go to decide the first Tissot-Superpole riders of the new 2015 WorldSBK season, Alex Lowes (Voltcom Crescent Suzuki) is the one that everyone is chasing after ending day one in Australia on top, courtesy of his FP1 time of 1.30.855s.

The British rider will head into tomorrow’s FP3 with a gap of 0.359s over Jordi Torres (Aprilia Racing Team – Red Devils) as the top 9 riders were separated by a second.

3rd place in the overall classification after the opening day was Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) one of many who were unable to improve this afternoon in the much hotter conditions.

In fact only 3 of the top 12 riders were able to better their FP1 times.

Leon Haslam (Aprilia Racing Team – Red Devils) finished 4th ahead of Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) and the second of the WorldSBK rookies Nico Terol (Althea Racing) who was 6th.

Michael van der Mark (Pata Honda World Superbike Team) continues to find his feet after moving up from World Supersport, the reigning WSS champion jumped up to 7th.

Niccolo Canepa (Team Hero EBR) missed FP1 due to a technical problem, the Italian managed a couple of competitive laps before falling at turn 10. He will head into tomorrow in 20th overall.

Sylvain Barrier fell at turn 11 at the half way point of FP3, the Frenchman still fast enough to claim 13th.

Leon Haslam was the only other faller, the British rider losing the front of his Aprilia at turn 10.

Reigning champion Sylvain Guintoli (Pata Honda World Superbike Team) was 12th, the Frenchman who improved throughout the final 45 minutes was lucky not to crash after saving what would have been a huge highside.

Troy Bayliss (Aruba SBK Team) found himself in 18th after his first 90 minutes of competitive WorldSBK action since 2008. The Australian spending a lot of time chasing a set-up on his Ducati Panigale machine, eventually elevating himself into the top twenty in the final 7 minutes courtesy of 4 personal best laps in a row.

Wildcard riders Matt Walters (Team Pedercini) and Jed Metcher (Race Center – Demolition Plus) eased themselves into the weekend posting the 16th and 19th times at the end of the opening day.

After FP3 in the morning, 20 riders will progress into the Tissot-Superpole sessions with 10 places on offer for the fastest ten riders after the times from FP1, FP2 and FP3 are combined. As it stands Leon Camier (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) sits in 11th overall and will need to find at least 0.254s to move automatically into the Pole Position shoot-out tomorrow.

BMW Motorrad - Make Life a Ride

BMW Motorrad - Make Life a Ride from 23 Frames on Vimeo.

BMW R NINE-T CUSTOM

 "CAFE' RACER Personal Best"

 "CAFE' RACER R Personal Best"

 "CLUBRACER"

 "DANDY"

 "MOTORSPORT"

 "BLACK SOUL"

 "BIANCANEVE"

 "BIG HELMUT"

 "CAFE' SCRAMBLER Personal Best"

 "RED"

 "CAFE' SCRAMBLER R Personal Best "

"COUNTRYMAN"

via http://designercut.blogspot.it

Would you take this rare drop-top Ferrari 365 GTC/4 over a Daytona Spider?

Ferrari never produced a Spider version of the 365 GTC/4. But judging by the car's suitability for decapitation, as illustrated by this expertly converted model currently for sale at Talacrest, perhaps it should have…

Certified by Modena... almost

Although not officially sanctioned by Ferrari, this is no crude, cut-price conversion. It was completed by Carrozzeria Auto Sport in Bastiglia, near Modena, a company whose experience stretches back to 1972, when it was founded under the name Bacchelli & Villa. Before then, Franco Bacchelli was an understudy to Piero Drogo in the 1950s; Roberto Villa worked at Scaglietti – plenty of validation there, then.

Pretty rare

Some would argue that the resulting Ferrari 365 GTC/4 Spider is not only prettier than the coupé(the derided-in-period ‘hunchback’ silhouette lost in conversion), but also the rare, factory Spider variant of its predecessor: the ‘Daytona’ GTS. In less subjective terms, this car represents the opportunity to acquire a V12-engined Ferrari Spider for a comparatively modest outlay – and we’re not aware of any similar examples currently on the market, at least not any executed to such high standards.

Photos: Simon Clay for Talacrest

‘92 Honda CB750 – De Palma Cycles

Tanks and seats. If you had to distill down the art of the custom motorcycle, moonshine-like, to its base elements in a concentrated form I’d argue the toss that tanks and seats is where you’d get to. Sure you’ve got wheels, tyres, bars and a whole cavalcade of other minutia you can tweak to make things look like this or that, but get the seat and tank wrong and it’s goodnight nurse. So when Barcelona-based De Palma Cycles told us they had a build inspired by the Honda RC110, arguable the world’s best ever tank-and-seat combo, we were more than a little excited. And then we saw the bike.

De Palma Cycles is a project by Barcelona-based designer Gregorio Fernandez. Amongst the things, Gregorio’s states his main influences as “rock, post punk and punk music. And early motorcycle gangs.” This is how the Honda you see here, a.k.a. the “De Palma 01” was born; in a whirl of denim, studs and bad attitudes. No wonder it came out so well.

“As a solid starting point for the build, the chosen base bike was a Honda 750 from 1992 that we think nicely combines reliability and design,” says Grego. “The engine was replaced with one of the last of the 750 series from the year 2000 with less than 20,000 km on it, and then we painted in black.” In our humble opinion, that’s always a good thing.

Since you put it that way…

And it’s not just the engine mods that were extensive. “The first and most important one was finding a lighter and more classic gas tank. It ended up being a replica of a metallic Honda RC110, one of my all-time favorite models. The change required a modification to the chassis, drawing a horizontal line from the tank to the seat in a very similar way to the classic Soichiro design. This first change was spot on and defined most of the customizations that followed.”

The next step was addition of a fork set from a Honda CBR900 Fireblade. “I have a special predilection for these forks; I love their classic design, length and overall quality. The calipers were kept as they were – the original CBR 900 4 pistons Nissins. The original rear brake was also kept, but we handcrafted a new flat disc that gave a harsher, more 70s look.”

The new seat unit was made in steel and topped off with leather and metallic rivets; the idea behind the steel and keeping it flat was to keep the two seat option if the need ever arose. It’s topped of with a round tail light to again reference the 70s style that Grego was looking for.

“The pipes, a 4-into-2 set-up, have been shortened and painted in black as have most of the other parts. The mufflers have been changed for a par of Supertrapps in an aluminium finish and the air box has been replaced by cone filters. The battery is hidden in the hub of the swing arm and the speedometer was simplified.”

Overall, we love how De Palma Cycles have achieved a modern bike build with solid performance while still oozing that classic rock ‘n’ roll spirit. “We’ll keep this overall feel for our next projects; a Guzzi V50 III Monza and a Morini 350 sport.” We can’t wait.

[Photos by Cristian Di Stefano]

via PIPEBURN

10 odd Ferraris we almost forgot

There are countless Ferraris that will go down in the annals as 'legends of their time', but what about those cars that, following their glimmering short spells in the spotlight, have dimmed in even the keenest enthusiasts' memories? Here are 10 oddball Ferraris we almost forgot…

Ferrari 408 4RM

Think the FF was the first four-wheel-drive Ferrari? Think again. This is the 408 4RM, a bizarre design study built in 1987 to test a complex hydraulic four-wheel-drive system. It didn’t look great, and it evidently didn’t work very well, either – just two were built, one of which currently resides in the Galleria Ferrari.

Ferrari Rainbow

Why ‘Rainbow’ we’re not sure, but the wedge-shaped concept is actually a classic Bertone/Gandini design. Free of any restraints that a production car might entail, Gandini was able to radically push the boundaries of then-modern car design – a conformist he most certainly wasn't. The car's folding hardtop was well ahead of its time, too.

Ferrari 365 GTC/4 Beach Car by Felber

We’re a little peeved we didn’t discover this car in time for our best beach cars story last summer, but then again, we’d never have found it. A Ferrari beach car? Come on. But sure enough, this beach-worthy 365 GTC/4 was built by Felber for the 1976 Geneva Motor Show. With a 320HP V12, we bet it was a little wilder than a Jolly 500 on the sands of St. Tropez.

Ferrari 166MM Zagato Panoramica

The very first Zagato-Ferrari collaboration and the very first Ferrari coupé, the 166MMPanoramica came about after customers began to request lighter Zagato bodies for their new Ferraris. Just one was built and, such was the way in those days, it was soon re-bodied in the name of competition.

Ferrari Sigma by Pininfarina

In the late 1960s, fatalities were an all-too-common occurrence in Formula One. Designed around a 312 chassis and powered by a Ferrari V12, the Sigma was built by Pininfarina in collaboration with Revue Automobile as a safety research prototype. Though shunned by some at the time, it utilised many then-innovative features, a number of which we take for granted today.

Ferrari Mondial T PPG Pace Car

This striking Mondial-based creation was built especially for use as a pace car in the PPG Indy Car World Series in the late 1980s. Originally priced at around one million dollars, Christie's sold an example in 2004 for a mere €70,500. Bargain?

Ferrari 360 Barchetta

We’re sure you’ll agree that a one-off Ferrari convertible certainly beats a toaster in the wedding present stakes. Gianni Agnelli had this Barchetta-style 360 Spider built for Luca di Montezemolo’s wedding. Apparently Luca was completely oblivious to its existence as every effort had been made by Agnelli to keep it a surprise until the big day. 

Ferrari Pinin by Pininfarina

Remarkable as it may seem, this is the one and only proper four-door Ferrari ever built (privately commissioned 456 saloons aside). Designed for the 1980 Turin Motor Show by Pininfarina (and aptly named Pinin after founder Battista ‘Pinin’ Farina), the prototype marked the 50^th anniversary of the legendary Italian design house.

Ferrari GG 50 by Giugiaro

Based on the 612 Scaglietti, the GG 50 was designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro in 2005 as a celebration of his 50 years in automotive design. That’s some anniversary gift.

Ferrari 330 GT Speciale by Vignale

Fredo Vignale was the man charged with realising Luigi Chinetti’s vision for a shooting brake version of the luxurious 330 GT 2+2 in the late 1960s. Sadly, the quirky shooting brake was to be Vignale’s final work before his untimely death in 1969. 

Photos: RM Auctions, Bonhams, Ferrari, Italdesign, Rainer W. Schlegelmilch, Pininfarina.

You can find many more memorable Ferraris for sale in the Classic Driver Market.